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THE   CHILD 


ITS    SPIRITUAL    NATURE 


THE  CHILD 


ITS   SPIEITUAL   NATUEE 


BY 


HENRY   KING   LEWIS 

II 

COMPILER  OF  "  SONGS  FOR  LITTLE  SINGERS  IN  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  AND  HOME 


gonbon 
MACMILLAN    &   CO.,  Ltd. 

New   York 

THE    MACMILLAN    CO. 

1896 


Ik 


"If  religion  cannot  accommodate  itself  on  the  one  side  to  the  capacity 
of  children,  or  if  on  the  other  side  it  fails  to  satisfy  the  requirements  of 
men,  it  has  lost  its  vitality,  and  it  becomes  mere  superstition  or  mere 
philosophy."— Max  Muller. 


PREFACE. 


It  is  unnecessary  to  say  more  here  than  that  the 
tracing  of  the  mental  and  physical  aspects  of  child- 
hood,  intensely  interesting  and  highly  important  as 
they  are,  must  be  regarded  as  quite  subordinate  to 
the  point  of  view  from  which  the  child  is  contemplated 
in  these  pages,  namely,  the  Spiritual.  The  mental,  as 
well  as  the  corporeal,  are  now  receiving  deserved  in- 
vestigation, but  the  Spiritual  has  been  almost  exclu- 
sively in  the  hands  of  those  whose  special  purpose 
has  been  the  classification  of  the  various  qualities 
of  spirit  according  to  the  theological  system  whose 
claims  they  accept,  usually  as  a  theoretical  assump- 
tion. 

But  the  question  is  not  one  of  theory  or  theology 
only,  but  is  of  intense  practical  importance,  for  as  is 
the  child  so  will  the  man  become. 


vi  PREFACE. 


A  few  illustrations  have  been  introduced  of  typical 
children,  and  of  some  of  these  stories  are  given  under 
their  respective  headings  in  the  following  pages. 

Grateful  acknowledgments  are  due  to  many  parents 
who  have  kindly  assisted  the  author  with  trustworthy 
facts  from  their  own  family  records,  besides  which 
many  illustrative  instances  are  selected  from  historical 
sources  which  are  generally  available. 

H.  K.  L. 

y^une,  1896. 


UKIVERSITY. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Introduction     .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         i 


CHAPTER  H. 

The  Human  Mind  in  Infancy  and  Childhood       .         6 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Seamy  Side  of  Child-Nature         ...      75 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Child  of  Heathendom 103 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Child  of  Art 153 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Children  of  Israel         .         .        ,        .        ,     159 


viii  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


PAGE 


The  Child  of  Christendom     .....     165 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The   Voice  of  the  Professing  Church   through 

ITS  Children's  Hymns 186 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Unit  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven — A  Little 

Child .         .     191 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Child  as  Portrayed  by  Jesus        .        .        .     204 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Conclusion 209 

Index 219 


FRONTISPIECE. 

These  three  children  of  one  family  express  a  common 
hereditariness,  and  a  striking  evolution  of  mental  capacity, 
in  the  power  of  appreciation  of  the  photographic  process 
through  which  they  are  passing.  The  youngest  is  excited, 
the  next  is  characterised  by  a  quiet  appreciation,  and  the 
eldest  is  more  quiescent  and  satisfied. 

Some  stories  of  the  children  depicted  in  the  frontispiece 
are  incorporated  in  the  text  of  the  book.  The  illustration 
is  introduced  specially  for  the  representation  by  the  three 
children  of  the  phases  of  mind  and  character  in  the  same 
family,  and  the  growth  of  the  faculties  of  body,  soul  and 
spirit,  which  are  gradually  unfolding  in  expressiveness  and 
power. 

By  the  kind  permission  of  Mr.  Arthur  Reston,  Photographic  Artist,  Stretford,  near 
Manchester. 


universitt! 


THE   CHILD 

ESPECIALLY    CONSIDERED    WITH    REFERENCE    TO    ITS 
SPIRITUAL   NATURE   AND   POSSIBILITIES. 


CHAPTER   I. 

INTRODUCTION 

Of  all  the  promising  and  only  partially-developed 
fields  of  human  enquiry,  none  is  more  remarkable 
than  that  of  Childhood.  Till  within  a  comparatively 
recent  date,  but  little  had  been  done  by  science  in  the 
investigation  of  the  subject.  Physiology  and  medi- 
cine took  cognisance  of  childhood  mainly  for  the  light 
their  researches  might  throw  on  the  adult  and  his  ail- 
ments. The  modern  humane  and  rational  treatment 
of  mental  disorders  gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  study 
of  Psychology,  a  study  in  which  childhood  has  come  in 
for  a  considerable  share. 

To  the  philosophers  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome  a 
child,  for  its  own  sake,  was  of  no  particular  value  as  a 
subject  of  serious  inquiry.  Yet  what  the  embryo  is  to 
the  new-born  babe,  that  essentially  is  the  infant  child 
to    the    full-grown    man.      The    axioms    of    heathen 

B 


2  THE  CHILD 


philosophy  were  derived  from  far  too  narrow  an  in- 
duction, and  human  wisdom  never  dreamt  of  putting 
a  Httle  child  in  the  midst  of  the  ancient  sages. 

With  uncultured  peoples  children  becanje  a  species 
of  property,  and  would  be  dealt  with  according  to  the 
kind  and  degree  of  civilization  to  which  they  had 
attained. 

In  comparison  with  the  life  and  history  of  surround- 
ing nationalities,  Judaism  sustains  a  position  of  marked 
superiority — a  fact  which  may  surely  be  regarded  as  a 
demonstration  of  the  Being  and  attributes  of  God. 
For  He,  through  Moses,  was  the  Teacher  and  Law- 
giver of  Israel. 

In  the  claims  of  parental  authority,  and  in  the  rever- 
ence enjoined  on  their  children,  the  legislation  of  Israel 
set  up  an  ideal  of  which  other  civilizations  gave 
scarcely  a  hint.  The  domestic  affections  were  fos- 
tered ;  and  from  Abraham  onwards,  we  see  how  life 
shaped  itself,  in  the  interests  of  the  children  and  es- 
pecially the  sons.  Discipline  was  maintained  by  very 
severe  enactments,  such  as  capital  punishment  for  the 
striker  or  reviler  of  a  parent,  though  not  at  the  inde- 
pendent will  or  caprice  of  that  relative. 

But  when  we  come  to  the  study  of  the  life  of  Jesus 
Christ,  we  have  reached  a  new  departure.  The  claims 
of  the  woman,  the  mother,  as  well  as  the  child,  receive 
recognition,  and  to  them  is  assigned  a  position  they 
never  before  occupied ;  and  the  primary  object 
throughout  this  book  is  to  follow  the  great  Teacher 


INTRODUCTION. 


in  His  estimate  of  a  little  child;  to  trace  its  spiritual 
possibilities  in  the  light  of  His  doctrine,  and  to  en- 
courage the  preparation  of  the  ground  for  that  higher 
training  of  children,  which  a  true  appreciation  of  the 
subject  demands. 

It  is  proposed,  then,  first,  to  discuss  the  child  in  his 
essential  attributes,  mental,  moral,  and  spiritual ;  and 
the  physical  only  as  it  stands  in  subordinate  relation 
to,  or  affects  the  higher  faculties  of  the  child's  nature. 
Perez,  Sully,  Ferrier,  Herbert  Spencer,  Houzeau  and 
others,  have  supplied  minute  and  most  valuable  in- 
formation on  the  early  stages  of  childhood  and  make 
it  unnecessary  to  go  over  ground  they  have  so  w^ell 
occupied. 

As  education,  both  in  its  principles  and  methods, 
has  assumed  the  character  of  a  modern  science,  so  the 
study  of  the  creature  to  be  educated  or  developed 
grows  more  intensely  interesting.  Educational  prac- 
tice will  be  brought  more  closely  into  harmony  with 
the  accepted  principles,  as  the  requirements  of  the 
nature  to  be  developed  are  recognized. 

We  want  to  handle  the  child,  as  we  find  him,  with 
his  ascertainable  limitations,  and  his  actual  possibili- 
ties. For  the  discovery  of  these  limits  and  possibilities 
can  we  adopt  a  more  satisfactory  course  than  that 
which  the  inductive  method  supplies  ? 

We  must  protest,  most  vigorously,  against  beginning 
with  theory,  whether  philosophical  or  theological. 
Living,    healthy   specimens    are    always    to   be    had, 

B  2 


THE   CHILD. 


until  tampered  with  by  quacks.  The  most  promising 
samples,  therefore,  if  the  most  reliable  results  are  to  be 
secured,  will  be  those  that  are  taken  from  the  earliest 
moment  possible. 

Let  these  be  studied,  analysed,  compared  and  classi- 
fied. A  fairly  sound  generalization  will  then  be  pos- 
sible. 

He  who  would  obtain  satisfactory  results,  must  come 
to  the  consideration  of  the  subject  with  an  open  mind, 
free  from  any  foregone  conclusions.  We  do  not  seek 
an  acquaintance  with  Egyptian  life  and  character 
within  the  folds  of  a  mummy  cloth,  nor  is  the  attempt 
to  ascertain  and  describe  the  qualities  of  a  living  child 
of  to-day  likely  to  be  a  successful  one,  if  we  conduct 
our  investigations  on  a  child  full  of  hereditary  taints, 
any  more  than  among  the  dry  specimens  in  some  old 
theological  museum. 

We  shall  first  put  aside  all  a  priori  theories,  and 
proceed  at  once  to  trace,  in  the  dawn  of  intelligence, 
perception,  emotion,  volition,  &c,  those  attributes  with 
which  this  marvellous  little  creature— a  child — is  en- 
dowed. 

We  shall  then  consider  some  of  the  more  general 
conditions  under  which  the  child's  character  is  modi- 
fied, though  in  its  essential  attributes  it  must  remain 
unaltered.  These  conditions  will  include  the  question 
of  evolution,  heredity,  nationality,  climate,  and  not 
least,  religion. 

The  influence  of  a  child   on  parent  and  the  family 


INTRODUCTION. 


generally,  in  the  development  of  human  affection,  self- 
denial,  and  refinement  of  manners,  may  be  briefly  dis- 
cussed in  a  supplementary  section. 

But  where  there  is  no  light,  the  habitations  of 
cruelty  reveal  the  hardness  of  heart,  which  leads  to 
the  brutal  sacrifice  of  children,  or  their  gross  ill-treat- 
ment. Thanks  to  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Waugh,  for  his 
valuable  and  successful  efforts  in  our  own  country,  to 
expose  and  correct  this  crying  evil. 

The  ultimate  purpose  of  the  book  is  Christian  life. 
In  Christ,  the  boy,  we  have  the  ideal  child  ;  and  in 
His  teaching  we  are  furnished  with  the  laws  of  a 
Kingdom  which  is  based  upon  true  childhood.  His 
words  contain  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  to  cor- 
rect the  misconceptions  which  for  ages  have  tended  to 
obscure  or  pervert  the  "  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ." 


THE   CHILD. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE  HUMAN  MIND  IN  INFANCY  AND  CHILDHOOD. 

The  new-born  babe  is  the  most  helpless  creature  that 
comes  into  the  world.  Hence  it  is  that,  to  the  earnest 
inquirer,  its  earliest  years  are  watched  with  the  most 
fruitful  results.  Of  all  the  arts  of  restraint,  or  disguise, 
or  exaggeration  or  simulation,  to  the  practice  of  which 
the  temptation  is  so  strong  in  later  years,  the  infant  is 
in  guileless  and  blissful  ignorance.  You  approach  the 
child  as  a  discoverer,  and  if  your  specimen  be  a  poor 
one,  be  sure  it  is  due  to  no  fault  of  the  child.  The 
child  offers  no  discouragement  to  the  fullest  inquiry. 

Nevertheless  the  child  is  not  idle.  Its  receptive 
faculties  begin  to  open  w^ith  its  earliest  breath ;  and 
though  at  first  all  movements  must  be  automatic,  it 
is  wonderful  how  soon  a  motive  for  action  may  be  dis- 
covered. It  strikes  out  right  and  left,  with  all  its  four 
limbs.  It  is  stimulated  to  give  expression  to  its  feel- 
ings, by  the  contact  of  the  surrounding  air  with  its 
breathing  apparatus  ;  and  its  inarticulate  cries  awaken 
the  solicitude  of  the  mother.  Nutriment  and  repose 
on  the  mother's  breast  are  at  hand. 

As  a  rule,  visual  perception  of  objects  takes  place 
after  three  or  four  weeks.     Tiedemann   recorded   the 


This  picture  shows  the  same  boy  at  various  ages. 

The  baby  reveals  the  active  nature  of  the  child  in  the 
exercise  of  the  prehensile  powers  over  the  feet,  while  there 
is  as  yet  scarcely  anything  more  than  automatic  action. 
There  is  an  intermediate  stage  in  the  left  side  picture 
of  the  child  which  impresses  with  its  intelligence,  and 
strongly  foretells  the  coming  man.  In  the  central  figure 
the  boy  has  developed  physically  in  active  energy  and 
strength,  and  makes  good  promise  of  being  at  the  top 
of  his  class,  and  foremost  at  boating  or  cricket. 


UNIVERSITT 


HUMAN  MIND   IN  INFANCY. 


almost  incredible  observation  that  movement?  of  the 
eyes  have  been  observed  the  second  day  after  birth. 
The  action  could  be  simply  reflex,  due  to  the  vibration 
of  light.  But  just  as  we  are  struck  with  admiration  at 
the  first  successful  experiment  in  the  use  of  a  deli- 
cately-constructed bit  of  mechanism,  so  do  those  who 
watch  the  complex  organization  of  a  newly-born  babe 
mark  with  delight  and  satisfaction  the  evidences  of 
healthy  function. 

The  slow  progress  of  development  in  a  child,  in 
comparison  with  other  animals,  is  illustrated  in  the 
fact  that  in  a  month  a  kitten  will  make  as  much  pro- 
gress in  physical  development  as  a  child  accomplishes 
in  two  years. 

An  infant  is  susceptible  of  great  enjoyment.  Fresh 
surprises  are  continually  opening  up  with  its  expanding 
powers :  and  it  is  remarkable  how  many  and  how 
varied  are  its  pleasures,  acquired  through  sight  and 
hearing  and  touch,  with  a  rapidly  increasing  capacity 
through  their  use. 

The  study  of  the  phenomena  of  mind  in  child- 
hood is  very  interesting  to  parents ;  and  love  and 
thoughtfulness  often  record  the  original  remarks  of 
their  children  from  year  to  year. 

These  observations  are   most  valuable,  as  affording  . 
illustrations  of  the  discrimination   of  facts,  the  mode 
of  reasoning,  and  the  conclusions — often  strange  and 
unexpected — at  which  the  infant  arrives. 

As  supplying  the   psychologist   with   the  means  of 


THE   CHILD. 


appreciating  the  character  and  state  of  mental  pro- 
gress of  the  child,  these  recorded  phenomena  are 
exceedingly  useful.  Not  less  important  are  they  as 
disclosing  the  data  of  moral  consciousness,  and  their 
influence  in  the  formation  of  character. 

Comparison  of  one  period  with  another  in  the  pro- 
gress of  a  child's  life,  furnishes  the  opportunity  for 
tracing  the  growth  of  the  child's  mind,  a  practice 
which  parents  have  sometimes  wisely  adopted. 

Before  v/e  pass  on  to  some  more  special  considera- 
tions, we  may  observe  how  facts  to  be  adduced  tend 
to  illustrate  or  to  oppose  certain  general  conclusions 
current  among  us  as  to  child-nature. 

Of  all  the  phenomena  of  nature,  in  the  heavens  or 
on  the  earth,  that  call  forth  our  wonder  and  admira- 
tion, that  stimulate  our  interest  and  warm  our  affec- 
tions, or  that  awaken  our  anticipations  for  the  future, 
or  that  afford  scope  for  the  imagination,  nothing  is 
comparable  to  the  little  child. 

Perhaps  Wordsworth  is  unsurpassed  as  the  poet  of 
childhood,  when  he  sings  : — 


Our  birth  is  but  a  sleep  and  a  forgetting ; 
The  Soul  that  rises  with  us,  our  life's  Star, 

Hath  had  elsewhere  its  setting, 
And  Cometh  from  afar  : 

Not  in  entire  forgetfulness. 

And  not  in  utter  nakedness. 
But  trailing  clouds  of  glory  do  we  come 

From  God,  who  is  our  home  ; 


HUMAN   MIND   IN   INFANCY, 


Heaven  lies  about  us  in  our  infancy, 
Shades  of  the  prison  house  begin  to  close 

Upon  the  growing  Boy, 
But  he  beholds  the  light,  and  whence  it  flows, 
("  He  sees  it  in  his  joy. 

The  Youth,  who  daily  farther  from  the  east 

Must  travel,  still  is  Nature's  priest, 

And  by  the  vision  splendid 

Is  on  his  way  attended  ; 
At  length  the  Man  perceives  it  die  away 
And  fade  into  the  light  of  common  day. 

Nor  have  the  poets  failed  to  perceive  wherein  the 
strength  of  a  Httle  child  is  found.  In  the  babe  we 
have  before  our  eyes  continually  a  form  of  omni- 
potence. The  infant's  strength  is  its  weakness — *'  the 
weakness  of  God  is  stronger  than  men." 

This  is  prettily  embodied  in  some  verses  by  John 
Dennis : — 

THE   MASTER   OF   THE   HOUSE. 

He  cannot  walk,  he  cannot  speak. 

Nothing  he  knows  of  books  and  men, 
He  is  the  weakest  of  the  weak. 

And  has  not  strength  to  hold  a  pen  ; 
He  has  no  pocket,  and  no  purse. 

Nor  ever  yet  has  owned  a  penny, 
But  has  more  riches  than  his  nurse, 

Because  he  wants  not  any. 

He  rules  his  parents  by  a  cry, 

And  holds  them  captive  by  a  smile, 
A  despot,  strong  through  infancy, 

A  king,  from  lack  of  guile. 


10  THE   CHILD. 


He  lies  upon  his  back  and  crows, 

Or  looks  with  grave  eyes  on  his  mother, 
What  can  he  mean  ?     But  I  suppose 

They  understand  each  other. 

Indoors  or  out,  early  or  late, 

There  is  no  limit  to  his  sway, 
For  wrapped  in  baby  robes  of  state. 

He  governs  night  and  day. 
Kisses  he  takes  as  rightful  due, 

And,  Turk-like,  has  his  slaves  to  dress  him. 
His  subjects  bend  before  him  too, 

I'm  one  of  them.     God  bless  him  ! 

The  following  observations  and  original  facts,  some- 
what roughly  classified,  include  the  sayings  of  small 
children,  and  the  childhood  of  persons  who  became 
remarkable ;  together  with  some  of  the  conclusions 
arrived  at  by  careful  and  earnest  investigators. 

Many  of  these  facts  especially  afford  illustrations  of 
the  qualities  and  tendencies  of  the  child,  as  a  spiritual 
being. 

They  are  selected  primarily  as  foreshadowing  the 
mature  individual  as  he  would  be,  unbiassed  by  undue 
social  influences,  wise  or  otherwise,  and  untrammeled 
by  the  artificialities  of  modern  education. 


Ineffaceableness  of  early  impressions. 

The  earliest    impressions    on  the  mind  of  a  child, 
whether   sensuous,  mental,  or  spiritual,  are  very  deep, 


EARLY  IMPRESSIONS.  11 

and  not  seldom  ineffaceable.  As  a  striking' illustration 
of  the  fact  we  take  the  following  summary  gathered 
from  Hodder's  "  Life  of  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,"  and 
having  read  the  account,  let  the  reader  look  at  a  good 
portrait  of  the  late  Earl  and  he  will  see  the  early  life 
quite  vividly  depicted  in  his  expressive  face. 

"  Although  not  yet  seven  years  of  age,  there  was  in 
his  heart  a  distinct  yearning  for  God."  Maria  Miller 
had  been  his  mother's  nurse,  and  she  was  now  house- 
keeper. She  formed  a  strong  attachment  for  the 
gentle,  serious  child,  and  would  take  him  on  her  knee 
and  tell  him  Bible  stories,  especially  the  sweet  stories 
of  the  Manger,  of  Bethlehem,  and  the  Cross  of  Calvary. 
It  was  her  hand  that  touched  the  chords  and  awakened  the 
first  music  of  his  spiritual  life.  At  the  age  of  seven, 
young  Ashley  went  to  school — Manor  House  School, 
Chiswick — now  an  Asylum  for  the  Insane.  It  was  a 
dreadful  school ;  it  might  almost  be  called  a  school  for 
making  insane  boys.  '*  The  young  days  of  his  life, 
instead  of  being  full  of  brightness,  and  sunshine,  and 
merriment,  were  made  utterly  wretched.  Even  in  old 
age  he  would  say  : — '  The  memory  of  that  place  makes 
me  shudder ;  it  is  repulsive  to  me  even  now.  I  think 
there  never  was  such  a  wicked  school  before  or  since. 
The  place  was  bad,  wicked,  filthy  ;   and  the  treatment 

was  starvation  and  cruelty.' "     He  clung  to  his 

old  friend,  for  she  was  the  only  grown-up  person  in  the 
world  he  really  loved  ;  the  only  one  to  whom  he  had 
dared  to  speak  of  the  misery  of  his  school  life,  the  only 


12  THE    CHILD. 


one  with  whom  bright  and  beautiful  memories  of  his 
earher  years  were  associated.  In  her  will  she  left  him 
her  gold  watch,  and  until  the  day  of  his  death,  he 
never  wore  any  other.  He  was  fond  even  to  the  last 
of  showing  it,  and  would  say,  "that  was  given  to  me 
by  the  best  friend  I  ever  had  in  the  world." 

That  early  impressions  are  deep,  has  been  accounted 
for,  at  least  in  part,  by  Mrs.  Child,  Mass.,  U.S.,  who 
says  : — "  The  mind  of  a  child  is  not  like  that  of  a 
grown-up  person,  too  full  and  too  wordy  to  observe 
anything.  It  is  a  vessel  always  ready  to  receive  and 
always  receiving,"  or  it  is  like  "wax  to  receive  and 
marble  to  retain." 


Intuitive  Discrimination  of  Character. 

Children  are  not  slow  in  the  detection  of  character. 
Their  sympathies  are  as  readily  drawn  out  to  some,  as 
their  antipathies  are  aroused  towards  others.  As  in 
the  vegetable  world  a  young  and  sensitive  plant  yields 
itself  to  the  tender  and  silent  attraction  of  the  sun- 
shine, so  will  a  responsively  loving  heart  of  a  child 
be  drawn  out  even  before  a  word  has  been  spoken,  or 
the  critical  faculty  has  had  a  chance  of  asserting  its 
authority;  and,,  as  a  rule,  the  intuitive  response  to  a 
kindly  attractive  face  or  touch  will  be  a  truthful  one. 

James  Hogg,  the  Ettrick  shepherd,  says  : — "  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that  children  are  the  best  judges  of  charac- 
ter at  first  sight  in  the  world.    There  is  an  old  Scotch 


DISCRIMINATION  OF  CHARACTER.  13 

proverb,  *  they  are  never  cannie,  that  dogs'  and  bairns 
dinna  like '  and  there  is  not  a  more  true  one  in  the 
whole  collection." 

Assuming  the  spirituality  of  child-nature,  ought  we 
to  be  in  the  least  surprised  at  such  an  indication  as 
this? 

"  The  spirit  of  man  that  is  in  him,"  precedes  intel- 
lectual processes  in  the  development  of  mind.  Child- 
hood has  been  misunderstood,  mainly  because  its 
spirituality  has  been  ignored.  St.  Paul's  profound 
proposition  that  **  he  that  is  spiritual  discerneth  all 
things,  while  he  himself  is  discerned  of  no  man " 
(I.  Cor.  ii.  15),  finds  striking  illustrations  in  many 
a  child's  observations. 

Percy  (nine  years  old)  hopes  he  shall  grow  up  like 
papa,  both  in  face  and  character ;  he  thinks  his  father 
as  near  perfection  as  possible.  (And  those  who  know 
papa,  admire  Percy's  discrimination). 

A  little  child  lives  by  faith,  before  the  perceptive 
faculties  of  the  mind  are  awakened  to  anything  in  the 
shape  of  a  creed  in  its  most  elementary  form.  Of  this 
fact  we  have  a  remarkable  illustration  in  the  personal 
recollections  of  George  Sand. 

"  I  walked  at  ten  months.  I  talked  pretty  late,  but 
when  once  I  had  begun  to  say  a  few  words,  I  learnt  all 
the  words  very  quickly,  and  at  four  I  could  read  very 
well.  I  was  also  taught  prayers  ;  I  remember  that  I 
said  them,  without  stumbling,  from  beginning  to  end, 
and   without    understanding   a   syllable,    except   these 


14  THE   CHILD. 


words  when  I  and  my  cousin  Clotilde,  were  laying  our 
heads  on  the  same  pillow,  '  My  God,  I  give  you  my 
heart.'  I  don't  know  why  I  understood  that  more 
than  the  rest,  for  there  is  much  that  is  metaphysical 
in  these  two  words ;  however  I  did  understand  them, 
and  it  was  the  only  part  of  my  prayers  in  which  I  had 
some  idea  of  God,  and  of  myself.  As  to  the  Pater,  the 
Credo,  and  the  Ave  Maria  which  I  knew  very  well  in 
French,  except  *  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,'  I 
might  just  as  well  have  said  them  in  Latin  like  a 
parrot,  they  would  not  have  been  more  unintelligible 
tome." 


The  Essential  and  the  Accidental, 

It  is  necessary  to  distinguish  between  what  is  essen- 
tial, and  what  is  accidental  in  this  as  in  every  other 
subject  proposed  for  our  consideration.  A  jewel  in  the 
diadem  of  a  queen  is  essentially  the  same  as  a  jewel  on 
a  dungheap. 

In  his  diary,  Lord  Shaftesbury  writes  : — "  At  Man- 
chester, I  perambulated  the  town  on  Saturday  night 
in  company  with  two  inspectors,  and  passed  through 
cellars,  garrets,  gin-palaces,  beer-houses,  brothels, 
gaming-houses,  and  every  resort  of  vice  and  vio- 
lence  Saw  a  darling  little  girl,  seven  years  old, 

in  the  very  depth  of  dirt  and  uproar.  Never  did  I 
witness  such  beauty  of  natural,  untaught  affection 
towards  its  rough  and  unkind  mother." 


CLOTHES.  15 


Freedom. 

The  love  of  liberty  is  early  manifested  in  a  babe,  and 
one  of  the  first  things  to  which  it  awakes  is  a  sense  of 
restraint.  The  struggle  for  freedom  is  perhaps  the 
earliest  effort  it  puts  forth.  "  The  heart  may  be  a 
free  and  fetterless  thing,"  but  the  heart  is  quickly  en- 
gaged in  conflict  with  its  environment. 

It  comes  into  the  world  under  a  system  of  Law,  and 
more  often  than  not,  it  learns  obedience  through  the 
things  it  suffers,  especially  at  the  hands  of  stupid  and 
ignorant  mothers  and  nurses.  Coming  from  the  land 
of  liberty— Heaven  itself — it  soon  discovers  that  it  is 
cabined,  cribbed,  confined. 


Clothes. 

Children  are  often  compelled  to  think  of  their  clothes 
as  of  greater  importance  than  themselves. 

Admiration  for  the  dress  is  often  sought  by  a  fond 
mother ;  or  of  a  pretty  child,  for  its  face,  as  though 
either  were  of  primary  importance.  Children  catch 
the  idea,  and  learn  to  measure  themselves  and  others 
by  this  merely  outward  standard. 

"  Happy  he  who  can  look  through  the  Clothes  of  a 
Man  (the  woollen,  and  fleshly,  and  official  Bank-paper 
and  State-paper  Clothes),  into  the  Man  himself;   and 


16  THE   CHILD. 


discern,  it  may  be,  in  this  or  the  other  Dread  Poten- 
tate, a  more  or  less  incompetent  Digestive-apparatus ; 
yet  also  an  inscrutable  venerable  Mystery,  in  the 
meanest  Tinker  that  sees  with  eyes !  "* 

There  is  that  in  clothes  which  little  children  are 
decidedly  opposed  to.  Clothes  with  their  bands  and 
buttons  are  a  restraint.  They  rejoice  to  get  out  of 
them  and  to  feel  unfettered.  The  mother  strips  the 
child  for  bed.  Escaped  from  its  last  garment,  the  little 
elf  dashes  off,  dances,  runs  round  the  room,  exulting  in 
a  sense  of  freedom  in  God's  air. 

The  soul  has  been  sometimes  put  into  old  folks' 
clothes.  How  ludicrous  they  are  felt  to  be  !  Calvin- 
istic  buckram  that  chafes  the  skin  ;  small  clothes  that 
are  much  too  small  for  the  little  soul.  Can  the  souls 
of  grown  up  men  and  women  be  really  smaller  than  the 
souls  of  their  babes  ?     Yea,  quite  possible. 


Cloaks, 

A  cloak  seems  to  be  more  tolerable  to  a  little  child 
than  clothes,  it  does  not  so  largely  deprive  it  of  its 
sense  of  freedom.  But  when,  by  wrong-doing,  it  has 
ceased  to  be  a  little  child,  its  spiritual  nature  is  hurt, 
and  it  seeks  to  conceal  the  self-inflicted  wound  by  any 
fig-leaf  it  can  lay  its  hands  on. 

•  Carlyle's  Sartor  Resartus. 


HE  A  VEN.  17 


Heaven. 

We  cannot  help  associating  an  infant  with  heaven. 
If  we  accept  the  Christ,  we  must  believe  the  connec- 
tion is  a  very  real  one. 

Heaven  is  a  revelation  of  God.  God  makes  Heaven. 
It  is  a  thought  of  His  mind ;  it  is  an  unfolding  of  His 
love.  It  is  an  expression  of  His  will.  Our  loved  ones 
gather  there,  and  in  joining  the  heavenly  throng  the 
divine  idea  acquires  wider  expansion,  the  divine  pulse 
throbs  through  the  ever-growing  body,  and  the  divine 
will  attains  deeper  and  fuller  significance. 
•  But  God  has  revealed  Himself  in  our  sunny  skies, 
our  rolling  seas,  and  our  flower-adorned  earth  ;  in  all 
the  wonderful  changes  and  developments  of  nature — 
in  human  life — with  its  joys  and  sorrows — its  splendid 
careers  and  heroisms ! 

And  the  most  beautiful  aspect  of  the  revelation  of 
God  comes  to  us  in  childhood,  untouched  by  tempta- 
tion, untarnished  by  sin.  The  revelation  of  God  in 
Heaven  may  never  be  clouded  by  imperfect  vision,  or 
obscured  by  sin ;  on  earth  it  is  different,  but  the  mani- 
festation is  the  same  for  all  that. 

If  the  world  of  humanity  in  its  origin  and  destiny  is 
not  of  God  whence  can  it  be  ?  "  The  Earth  is  the 
Lord's,  and  the  fulness  thereof." 

"  The  (to  us)  unknown  future  world  is  but  a  mani- 
festation of  God  Almighty's  will,  and  a  development  of 


18  THE   CHILD. 


nature  neither  more  nor  less  than  this  in  which  we  are, 
and  an  angel  glorified  or  a  sparrow  on  a  gutter,  are 
equally  parts  of  His  Creation."* 

Yet  the  conception  of  heaven  as  brought  before  the 
mind  of  a  little  child,  is  commonly  so  materialistic, 
and  the  occupations  of  the  redeemed  so  utterly  be- 
yond anything  a  child  can  make  out,  that  an  honest, 
healthy  boy  can  hardly  be  got  to  express  a  willingness, 
much  less  a  longing  to  go.     And  should  he  ? 

But  here  is  the  candid  utterance  of  a  little  boy  whose 
notion  of  heaven  was  acquired  in  a  well-known  school. 
Tom's  aspirations  are  rather  languid;  he  thinks  heaven 
must  be  a  dull  place.  His  conclusion  that  it  must  be 
so,  is  based  on  the  observations  he  has  made  at  church. 
Faces  solemn,  and  often  sad  ;  surely  heaven  must  be 
worse  than  school.  With  heaven  on  the  brain,  he  said 
one  day  to  his  mother : — "  Mother,  I  hope  when  I  go 
to  heaven,  they  will  let  me  have  a  Saturday  half-holiday 
that  I  may  go  and  have  a  game  in  hell." 


Pity, 

Pity — **  akin  to  love  " — this  is  a  profound  spiritual 
affection,  whose  root  is  sympathy.    "Thine  eye  pitied." 

How  readily  it  is  evoked  towards  those  who  have 
the  care  of  children.  The  nurse-girl's  *'  Ah,  poor !  " 
and  the  tender  feeling  aroused  towards  herself;  or  it 

*  Thackeray's  Letters. 


BLISSFUL  IGNORANCE   OF  CHILDREN.  19 

may  be,  as  she  strokes  the  fur  of  the  cat,  thd  same  feel- 
ing is  called  forth  from  a  very  little  child  indeed. 

How  opposed  to  cruelty  is  this  divine  virtue.  St. 
Paul  uses  the  phrase  *'  bowels  of  compassion,"  expres- 
sive of  this  divine  element  of  pity. 

Many  of  our  affections  bring  with  their  exercise  un- 
mitigated pleasure ;  but  pity  for  the  sufferings  or  mis- 
fortunes of  others  evokes  a  sympathy  whose  tender- 
ness is  sad  if  not  positively  distressing.  Hence  there 
can  be  no  self-seeking  here.  It  is  not  a  seeking  of  self- 
gratification  (which  the  exercise  of  a  feeling  of  benevo- 
lence may  be)  and  therefore  must  rank  very  high  as  a 
divine  faculty  of  the  soul.  We  know  how  distressed 
a  little  child  may  be  when  the  function  of  pity  is  ex- 
cited. 

Mabel  (four)  in  the  garden  would  call,  "Come,  pretty 
birds,  we  won't  hurt  you.  Do  come."  Catching  a 
butterfly,  she  was  so  grieved  at  the  injury  inflicted 
on  the  fragile  thing,  that  she  determined  that  she 
would  never  try  to  catch  another. 

One  day  Muriel,  when  three  years  of  age,  was  found 
kneeling  on  her  bed  looking  intently  at  a  picture  of  our 
Lord's  Crucifixion,  and  when  asked  by  her  mother 
what  she  was  doing,  replied  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  "Oh 
mother,  why  don't  they  take  out  the  nails  ?  " 

The  blissful  ignorance  of  little  children, 
"  Bacon  openly  taught,  as  a  fundamental  principle 
of  his  method,  that  men  must  enter  the  Kingdom  of 

C2 


20  THE   CHILD. 


Science,  as  Christ  taught  His  disciples  to  enter  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  by  becoming  as  Httle  children."* 

"  But  it  was  impossible  that  Science  should  make 
any  progress,  while  every  fact  of  every-day  life,  almost, 
was  explained  by  false  theories  and  erroneous  assump- 
tions. All  these  things  had  to  be  ignored.  Just  so, 
also,  the  true  knowledge  of  God  and  Jesus  Christ  was 
rendered  almost  impossible,  through  the  traditions  and 
theological  assumptions  of  priests  and  teachers.  All 
this  had  to  be  ignored. "t 

Little  children  are  happily  ignorant,  and  when  light 
shines  on  them,  they  find  it  pleasant,  and  in  the  light 
they  can  walk.  Knowing  nothing  at  all  is  the  very  best 
condition  for  revelations  from  the  Father.  *'  I  deter- 
mined to  know  nothing,"  &c.,  says  St.  Paul ;  and  he 
would  have  his  converts  "wise  concerning  that  which 
is  good  and  simple  (ignorant)  concerning  that  which  is 
evil." 

Contentment, 

Bacon,  in  his  Advancement  of  Learning,  says: — "In 
divine  truth  a  man  cannot  endure  to  become  a  little 
child  " ;  but  a  healthy  child  feels  it  no  degradation  to 
be  a  child.     It  is  content  with  its  natural  condition. 

At  first,  a  child  cannot  endure  to  be  made  what  he 
is  not ;  but  he  soon  learns  to  give  himself  airs,  and 
alas  !  he  is  no  longer  a  little  child. 

*  Strutt's  Inductive  Method,  p.  5. 
f  Ibid,  p.  6. 


ORDERLINESS.  M 


Orderliness, 

Order,  as  distinguished  from  confusion,  is  hardly  to 
be  expected  in  a  child.  Discrimination  of  the  ever- 
increasing  number  and  variety  of  its  facts,  their  rela- 
tive importance,  and  the  multiplicity  of  things  a  child 
can  handle,  are  not  likely  at  a  very  early  date  to  fall 
under  any  orderly  arrangement. 

But  here  is  an  instance  of  an  orderly  mind : — Edith 
(before  two)  would  have  all  the  doll's  clothes  folded 
and  put  away  exactly  in  their  right  places. 

A  still  more  remarkable  example  we  have  in  the 
boyhood  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  whose  daughter,  Mrs. 
Drew,  mentions  that  his  first  well-authenticated  words 
were  : — "  Take  it  away  ;  how  can  I  do  two  things  at 
once  ?  "  He  was  then  a  small  boy  doing  his  lessons, 
when  he  was  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  the  nurse 
bringing  him  a  dose  of  physic.  "The  words,"  remarks 
Mrs.  Drew,  "  will  seem  to  some  foreshadowing  of  the 
astuteness  of  the  old  parliamentary  hand  who  finds  an 
escape  out  of  any  situation,  but  to  those  who  know 
Mr.  Gladstone  more  than  superficially  they  contain 
one  of  the  secrets  of  the  assurance  of  his  convictions 
and  the  success  of  his  work." 

As  boys.  Cavendish  and  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  were 
remarkable  contrasts.  The  former  was  retiring  in  dis- 
position, and  studious ;  escaping  from  society  where 
he  might  be  brilliant.     The  latter  would  fancy  himself 


22  THE  CHILD. 


a  lecturer,  before  a  vast  gathering  of  eager  listeners, 
and  would  carefully  arrange  his  imaginary  auditorium. 
Before  we  leave  the  more  spiritual  aspects  of  the 
child-nature,  to  discuss  the  development  of  the  intel- 
lectual faculties,  many  instances  of  the  practical  indi- 
cations of  religious  principles  may  be  adduced. 


Prayer  and  practice — faith  and  works. 

Dr.  Hamilton,  of  Regent  Square  Church,  in  his 
interesting  Memories,  relates  a  prayer  uttered  by  one 
of  his  infant  children.  *'  O  Lord,  open  pussy's  eyes, 
and  make  her  tail  grow" — a  prayer  which  in  due  time 
was  answered. 

It  would  indeed  be  strange  if  in  a  little  child  no 
trace  could  be  discovered  of  his  origin  as  the  offspring 
of  the  great  Father  in  Heaven.  We  are  not  surprised 
at  such  a  story  as  this,  related  by  Mrs.  Cadby,  of  a 
child's  faith  in  God. 

Children  at  a  very  early  age  are  able  to  appreciate 
God's  loving  care  and  protection,  and  their  pure,  un- 
sullied trust  has  often  helped  the  waning  faith  of  their 
elders.  This  was  seen  in  the  case  of  a  little  boy  eight 
years  of  age  who  had  just  lost  his  father  after  a  linger- 
ing illness.  The  mother  in  her  heart-breaking  grief 
and  desolation  said  to  the  child  : — ''  Oh  !  my  boy,  we 
are  alone  now,''  But  the  boy's  faith  was  unshaken, 
and  he  replied  with  an  emphasis  which  astonished  and 


GODLINESS, 


almost  reproved  the  mother : — "  No,  Mamma,  we  are 
not  alone,  for  God  is  with  us  !  '' 

A  little  girl  told  a  friend  who  was  visiting  her  father 
that  her  brothers  set  traps  to  catch  the  birds.  He 
asked  her  what  she  did.  She  replied,  "  I  prayed  that 
the  traps  might  not  catch  the  birds."  "Anything 
else  ?  "  "  Yes,"  she  said,  "  I  then  prayed  that  God 
would  prevent  the  birds  getting  into  the  traps  ;  "  and, 
as  if  to  illustrate  the  doctrine  of  faith  and  works,  she 
added,  "  I  went  and  kicked  the  traps  all  to  pieces." 

"  The  most  perfect  prayers  are  those  of  Saints  and 
of  little  children,  because  in  both  there  is  the  same 
freedom  from  the  hard,  unconcerned,  self-contempla- 
tive habit  of  mind  which  besets  the  common  sort  of 
Christians,  and  the  same  presence  of  awe,  tender- 
ness of  conscience,  simplicity  and  truth." — Cardinal 
Manning. 

When  he  was  only  four  years  old  Father  Damien 
was  missed  from  home,  and  was  found  alone  in  the 
church  of  a  neighbouring  village  where  a  fair  was 
going  on,  praying  under  the  pulpit. 


Godliness, 

Harold  (seven)  speaking  of  what  he  would  choose  to 
be  when  a  man,  said  "  I  don't  mean  to  choose  any- 
thing, I  am  going  to  do  what  God  pleases." 


24  THE   CHILD. 


Holiness. 

**  The  holiness  of  children  is  the  very  type  of  saintli- 
ness  ;  and  the  most  perfect  conversion  is  but  a  hard 
and  distant  return  to  the  holiness  of  a  child." — Cardinal 
Manning. 

Atonement  and  reconciliation. 

A  packet  of  sweets  was  given  to  a  child,  and  his 
mother  wisely  took  charge  of  it,  since  the  child  did  not 
and  could  not  know  that  to  eat  them  all  at  one  time 
would  be  injurious.  Unfortunately  the  packet  was 
left  on  a  shelf  within  reach  of  the  little  one,  and  he 
knew  it.  Two  hours  afterwards — a  long  interval  for 
a  child  who  has  set  his  heart  upon  a  sweet — the  little 
boy  was  heard  calling  for  his  mother  or  anybody  who 
would  give  him  a  sweet,  one  of  his  own  sweets.  Every- 
body was  busy  and  no  one  could  listen  to  the  poor 
little  fellow.  He  got  upon  a  chair  and  reached  the 
packet  of  sweets,  and  then  went  about  the  house  seek- 
ing someone  to  give  him  permission  to  gratify  his 
longing.  Nobody  was  within  call.  What  was  he  to 
do  ?  They  belonged  to  him  ;  he  had  not  had  one,  and 
he  took  one.  It  was  an  act  of  disobedience  and  he 
knew  it.  When  his  father  saw  him  a  few  minutes 
later,  he  had  popped  the  tempting  candy  into  his 
mouth.  The  little  fellow  had  now  realised  the  terrors 
of  broken  law.     His  heart  was  quickly  broken.     He 


RESTRAINT  AND   LIBERTY.  25 


went  about  the  house  crying  piteously.  He  came  to 
his  grandmother.  She  tried  to  comfort  him.  He 
told  her  without  hesitation  of  his  offence.  She  en- 
deavoured to  divert  his  mind  to  something  else,  a  very 
wise  and  proper  thing  to  do  had  it  been  a  case  of  physi- 
cal suffering ;  but  he  would  not  be  comforted.  His 
heart  was  broken  ;  there  was  a  temporary  break  in  the 
sacred  relationship  of  child  and  parent.  Was  it  right 
to  attempt  to  stop  the  crying  by  diverting  his  attention 
from  the  more  serious  spiritual  hurt  ?  No,  the  child 
felt  that  it  would  not  do.  He  must  be  healed,  and 
he  could  not  be  healed  by  looking  the  other  way.  The 
child  was  truer  to  his  nature  than  was  the  grand- 
mother. In  his  heart  he  was  saying  "  I  want  atone- 
ment ;  I  must  be  reconciled."  He  slipped  off  his 
grandmother's  knee,  he  could  not  wait ;  he  sought  and 
found  his  parents.  The  reconciliation  was  effected. 
The  equilibrium  of  his  moral  life  was  restored.  The 
tears  were  wiped  away.  The  smile  of  peace  soon 
flitted  across  his  countenance  and  his  strength  was 
renewed.  He  took  no  more  sweets.  They  ought  not 
to  have  been  left  within  his  reach.  "  Lead  us :  not 
into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil."  But  how 
intensely  spiritual  was  this  moral  evolution  ! 


Restraint  and  liberty. 

You  walk  with  a  child  of  three  or  four  years.     You 
take  its  hand,  to  ensure  its  keeping  your  pace.     The 


26  THE   CHILD. 


child  drags  behind.  You  feel  that  he  wants  to  break 
away ;  to  take  his  own  steps,  so  different  from  yours — 
yours,  proper  to  you,  but  not  to  the  child.  He 
struggles  to  be  free,  and  at  length  you  relax  your  grasp 
of  his  hand.  He  is  free  ;  he  drags  no  more  now ; 
there  is  no  hanging  back ;  he  rejoices  in  his  freedom, 
and  he  shows  it  by  trotting  along  quite  ahead  of  you, 
and  you  have  to  quicken  your  pace  to  keep  up  with 
him. 

Are  there  not  often  enforced  on  little  children  re- 
straints as  foolish  as  they  are  unnatural  ?  Keep  the 
child  on  the  lines  of  nature,  for  these  are  the  ways  of 
grace.  "  Then  shall  I  run  in  the  ways  of  Thy  com- 
mandments when  I  am  enlarged,"  i.e.,  set  at  liberty. 

Intelligent  appreciation  and  sympathy  are  suggested 
by  the  divine  promise,  "  I  will  guide  thee  with  mine 
eye  " — not  by  force,  but  by  loving  sympathetic  wisdom. 


The  shadow  of  a  father's  guilt  on  an  innocent  child. 

William  Whittam — one  of  a  gang  of  burglars — wrote 
a  long  letter  to  his  wife,  detailing  several  attempts  he 
had  made  to  escape  from  prison.  The  letter  was  inter- 
cepted by  the  jailor.  It  was  of  considerable  length,  and 
well  expressed.  It  contained  the  following : — ". . .  Kiss 
dear  little  Nellie.  I  can't  get  her  out  of  my  thoughts. 
She  seems  to  know  there  is  something  wrong,  the  funny  way 
she  looks  at  me,''' 


lUNIVERSITT} 

A   BOrS  SELF-SACRIFICE.  27 


The  scape-goat  I 

A  Story  of  Sir  Edward  Burne-Jones. — Sir,  then 
Mr.,  Burne-Jones  had  so  far  recovered  from  the  effects 
of  a  recent  fall  that  he  was  able  to  paint  for  several 
hours  during  the  period  of  his  convalescence.  One  of 
the  earliest  exercises  of  his  art  after  his  recovery  was 
characteristic.  Being  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  he 
found  himself  in  the  nursery,  and  there  the  child- 
daughter  of  the  house  was  for  some  nursery  offence 
undergoing  solitary  confinement  in  a  corner.  When 
the  authorities  came  to  release  the  tiny  prisoner  they 
found  the  walls  of  her  cell  covered  with  beautiful  pencil 
drawings  of  flights  of  birds,  and  all  sorts  of  scenes  of 
"faery  lands  forlorn."  Half  frightened  and  half  proud, 
the  little  one  explained,  quite  unnecessarily  : — "  Please, 
it  wasn't  I ;  'twas  Mr.  Burne-Jones  that  did  it." 


A  boy's  self-sacrifice, 

"  An  orphan  boy  and  his  hungry  mongrel  dog  were 
the  objects  of  universal  dislike  and  ridicule  in  the 
house  of  his  uncle,  a  Scotch  farmer.  The  lad  always 
sat  of  an  evening  far  back  from  the  circle  of  the  fire- 
side, with  his  crouching  dog  under  his  stool  lest  it 
should  be  kicked.  One  day  the  little  son  of  the  house, 
of  whom  the  farmer  and  his  wife  were  dotingly  fond, 
went  out  with  the  boy  and  dog,  and  a  snow-storm 


28  THE   CHILD. 


coming  on  they  were  all  lost  on  the  hills.  Next  morn- 
ing the  dog  returned  to  the  farm,  making  wild  signs 
that  the  farmer  should  follow  him,  which  he  and  his 
wife  did  at  once,  in  great  anxiety.  At  last  the  dog 
brought  them  to  a  spot  where  they  found  the  boy  stiff 
and  cold,  but  their  own  child  still  alive.  The  boy  had 
taken  oif  his  own  coat  and  wrapped  it  round  the  child, 
whom  he  laid  on  his  breast,  and  then,  lying  under  him 
on  the  snow,  he  died."* 

Another  illustration  of  self-sacrifice.  It  is  Christ- 
mas weather,  and  if  you  pull  aside  the  curtains  and 
look  out  into  the  street  you  can  see  two  little  boys, 
just  outside  the  window.  The  younger  one  is  sitting 
upright  in  the  hand-cart,  and  his  big  brother — who 
must  almost  be  able  to  write  his  age  with  two  figures — 
is  pushing  him  along.  Is  it  a  colder  blast  than  usual, 
or  why  do  they  pull  up  for  a  talk  together  ?  You 
notice  them,  with  their  patched  and  darned  clothes, 
and  then,  as  you  watch,  you  see  the  elder  take  off  his 
poor  little  coat,  and  in  the  tenderest  way  begin  to 
wrap  it  round  his  little  brother.  He  is  in  his  shirt 
now,  and  the  wind  blowing  through  the  thin  ragged 
cotton,  but  he  does  not  seem  to  care — one  at  any  rate 
shall  be  warm.  And  sure  that  his  little  brother  is  now 
well  protected,  he  stoops  over  and  gives  him  a  kiss ; 
aud  then,  lifting  the  handles  of  the  barrow,  pushes  off 
manfully  through  the  snow. 

"  No  idea  of  '  effect,'  no  martyr-spirit  or  taking  up 

*  Scientific  Spirit  of  the  Age,  by  Frances  Power  Cobbe. 


CRYING,  29 


his  cross,  no  big  talk  about  his  self- sacrifice  ;  but  as 
the  Christ  who  became  a  little  child,  and  taught  us  the 
*  inasmuch,'  looked  down  and  noticed  this  little  street 
Arab — common  in  our  London  as  the  sparrow  that  He 
spoke  of  long  ago — how  do  you  think  He  felt  about  it  ? 
And  whereabouts  in  value  do  you  think  an  action  like 
this  would  come  ?  " 

In  the  following  we  have  another  instance  of  the 
unselfishness  of  a  little  child.  Kathie,  three  years  old, 
being  always  very  loth  to  part  with  anything  she  pos- 
sessed, was  much  troubled  and  fearful  at  her  mother's 
illness  and  possible  death,  but  found  it  in  her  heart 
to  say  : — "  I  shouldn't  like  my  dear  mother  to  die,  but — 
yet — I  should  like  her  to  go  to  the  golden  city." 


Crying, 

Tears  are  familiar — and  yet  they  have  their  mystery. 
Keble  says  : — 

Why  should  we  faint  and  fear  to  live  alone, 
Since  all  alone,  so  Heaven  has  will'd,  we  die  ? 

Nor  e'en  the  tenderest  heart,  and  such  our  own, 
Knows  half  the  reasons  why  we  smile  and  sigh. 

Each  in  his  hidden  sphere  of  joy  or  woe 

Our  hermit  spirits  dwell  and  range  apart. 
Our  eyes  see  all  around  in  gloom  or  glow — 

Hues  of  their  own,  fresh  borrowed  from  the  heart. 

What  is  that  which  gives  most  early  expression  to 
the  mental  states  or  feelings  of  an  infant  ?     It  is  not 


80  THE   CHILD. 


verbal  utterance,  for  the  use  of  language  indicates  con- 
siderable progress  in  mental  development. 

Before  it  has  acquired  the  power  of  appreciating  a 
definite  sound,  or  become  capable  of  perceiving  an 
object  external  to  itself,  its  consciousness  has  been 
awakened,  and  has  probably  revealed  itself  to  more 
than  one  person.  Twenty-four  hours  of  its  life  will 
not  have  passed  without  its  making  its  wants  or  its 
troubles  known.  It  soon  makes  use  of  the  universal 
language  of  earliest  infancy— the  expressive  voice  of 
pain  or  of  grief,  and,  such  is  the  marvellous  gamut  of 
human  feeling,  of  joy  and  laughter.  There  is  a  two- 
fold appeal,  awaking  inquiring  sympathy  as  it  falls 
upon  the  ear  of  the  listener,  and  also  to  the  eye,  as  it 
takes  shape  in  a  falling  tear. 

A  tear !  moulded  into  shape  by  the  same  forces  as 
those  which  give  form  to  the  planets  in  their  orbits ; 
a  tear  for  which  Nature  has  carefully  provided  its 
appropriate  receptacles,  its  adapted  channels,  and  for 
the  discharge  of  its  valuable  functions,  ever  delicate 
in  its  attentions  to  the  eye,  and  equally  resourceful  and 
helpful  for  the  burdened  heart  with  its  sorrows  and 
distresses. 

How  deep  and  subtile  is  the  sympathy  evinced  in 
the  entire  facial  expression  with  the  bitter  tear.  What 
contortions,  what  convulsive  movements  of  the  eye- 
brows, and  of  the  muscles  which  play  around  the 
mouth ! 

How  strange  the  contrast  between  the  placid  face  of 


CRYING,  81 


contentment,  and  the  streaming  eye  and  the  tortured 
countenance ;  and  all  this  as  strongly  marked  in  a 
little  child  as  in  an  adult.  Indeed,  there  is  a  sense  of 
shame  and  of  weakness  in  an  adult,  which  prompts  the 
attempt  to  conceal  that,  which  in  the  case  of  a  child, 
is  felt  to  be  like  the  very  profusion  of  eloquence. 

There  is  nothing  more  demonstrative  than  tears. 
Tears  command  an  immense  variety  of  expression  in 
connection  with  muscular  contortions  of  the  face.  The 
elevation  or  depression  of  lips,  or  eyebrows,  the 
wrinkles  that  overspread  the  countenance,  and  con- 
tract the  smooth  muscles  of  the  forehead,  like  the  dis- 
turbance of  the  fitful  breeze  across  the  placid  surface 
of  the  lake. 

The  mobility  of  the  features  renders  them  ready  ex- 
ponents of  grief  or  sorrow,  of  vexation  and  disappoint- 
ment, of  rage  and  anger,  particularly  with  flowing 
tears.  It  is  not  less  remarkable  that  painful  and  over- 
whelming physical  sensations  equally  find  expression 
through  the  same  media.  They  thus  become  our 
guardians  and  protectors  in  danger,  and  are  full  of 
warning. 

Harold  was  two  years  old,  when  running  with  his 
sister  round  the  table,  both  fell  down  and  were  hurt. 
Harold  ceased  crying  first,  and,  taking  up  his  pinafore, 
wiped  Lucy's  eyes,  and  soon  both  were  happy. 

"  Don't  give  me  your  cold,"  said  Papa.  "  No,"  re- 
plied Harold,  "  I  won't  if  I  can  help  it ;  I  have  just 
finished  watering  my  eyes." 


32  THE   CHILD, 


Children  very  early  learn  the  power  of  tears  as  a 
means  of  getting  what  they  desire.  They  thus  acquire 
a  commercial  value  and  degrade  the  child. 

A  little  boy  sat  on  the  floor  crying.  After  a  while 
he  stopped,  and  seemed  buried  in  thought.  Looking 
up  suddenly  he  said,  "  Mamma,  what  was  I  crying 
about  ?  "  "  Because  I  wouldn't  let  you  go  out  to 
play."     "  O  yes,"  and  he  set  up  another  howl. 


Genius — its  early  indications, 

John  Flaxman,  the  sculptor,  at  the  age  of  five,  was 
fond  of  examining  the  seals  of  every  watch  he  saw, 
whether  belonging  to  friend  or  stranger,  and  kept  a 
bit  of  soft  wax  ready  to  take  an  impression  of  any 
specimen  which  pleased  him.  While  yet  a  child  he 
made  a  great  number  of  small  models,  in  plaster-of- 
Paris,  wax,  or  clay,  some  of  which  are  still  preserved, 
and  have  considerable  merit.  At  the  age  of  eleven  and 
five  months  he  gained  his  first  prize  from  the  Society 
for  the  Encouragement  of  Arts,  &c.  At  thirteen, 
another ;  and  the  following  year  he  was  admitted  a 
student  at  the  Royal  Academy,  then  newly  established, 
and  the  same  year  he  received  their  silver  medal. 


THE   CALCULATING  BOY.  88 


The  calculating  hoy. 

In  an  address  which  George  Bidder  delivered  before 
the  Institute  of  Civil  Engineers  of  which  he  became 
the  President  in  i860,  he  endeavoured  to  account  to 
his  audience  for  the  success  which  had  attended  his 
career,  and  this  he  attributed  to  the  fact  that  he  had 
devoted  himself  as  a  child  to  mental  arithmetic.  Be- 
ginning with  ten,  and  going  on  by  tens,  the  child  soon 
acquired  an  intelligent  apprehension  of  the  meaning 
of  100. 

His  father  was  a  working  mason,  near  to  whose 
house  there  lived  a  kind-hearted  old  blacksmith,  with 
whom  little  George  became  acquainted,  and  there  he 
was  allowed  to  amuse  himself  to  his  heart's  content- 
As  he  grew  in  strength  he  was  able  to  blow  the  black- 
smith's bellows,  and  on  winter  evenings  little  George 
would  be  perched  on  a  seat  near  the  forge,  often  listen- 
ing to  the  old  man's  stories.  On  such  occasions  neigh- 
bours would  drop  in  and  listen,  and  one  day  someone 
seems  by  chance  to  have  asked  for  an  answer  to  a 
certain  arithmetical  problem,  whereupon  the  boy  with- 
out hesitation  gave  the  correct  answer  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  all  present.  Other  questions  followed,  and 
their  increasing  difficulty  necessitated  his  interrogator 
to  resort  to  a  board  and  a  bit  of  chalk.  His  remark- 
able power  soon  brought  him  before  the  public  as  **  the 
calculating  boy."     Eventually  he  became  an  engineer, 

D 


84  THE   CHILD. 


and  a  friend  of  George  Stephenson.  George  Bidder 
died  in  1878,  leaving  behind  him  many  engineering 
works,  monuments  of  his  skill  and  success. 


Literary, 

Thomas  Arnold,  of  Rugby,  at  the  age  of  three,  re- 
ceived a  present  of  Smollett's  Historical  Works,  as  a 
reward  for  his  accuracy  in  recounting  the  stories  con- 
nected with  the  reigns  of  the  Kings  of  England.  Be- 
fore he  had  reached  his  seventh  year  he  had  composed 
a  tragedy. 

Robertson,  the  historian,  began  life  at  fifteen  with 
his  motto — Vita  sine  Uteris  mors  est. 


Preaching  proclivities. 

Many  a  celebrated  preacher,  like  Dr.  Chalmers,  has 
preached  as  a  child  at  three  years  of  age. 

Little  Harold  in  his  grandpapa's  garden  was  over- 
heard reading  Rev.  i.  i,  and  seen  to  look  up  and  say : — 
"  Now  I  wonder  if  any  one  in  this  congregation  knows 
what  that  means." 

A  child  who  subsequently  became  an  eminent 
minister  and  professor  at  a  college,  began  preaching 
at  the  age  of  three,  when  he  took  for  his  text: — ''Learn 
to  do  evil,  cease  to  do  well,"  at  which  his  father  re- 
marked : — "  Come,  come,  John,  that  is  bad  doctrine." 


CURIOSITY  AND  DISCOVERY.  35 

More  reliable  was  the  doctrine  preached  by  John 
Ruskin,  who  began  his  career  as  a  pulpit  orator  at  the 
age  of  three  with  the  appeal  to  his  audience: — ''Be 
dood  people,  be  dood." 


Curiosity  and  discovery. 

"The  holy  philosopher  hath  said  expressly  that  the 
glory  of  God  is  to  conceal  a  thing,  but  the  glory  of  the 
king  is  to  find  it  out ;  as  if  the  divine  nature  according 
to  the  innocent  and  sweet  play  of  children  which  hide 
themselves  to  the  end  that  they  may  be  found,  took 
delight  to  hide  His  works,  to  the  end  they  might  be 
found  out ;  and,  of  His  indulgence  and  goodness  to 
mankind,  had  chosen  the  soul  of  man  to  be  His  play- 
fellow in  this  game."* 

Lessing's  answer  to  the  question  : — "  If  truth  were 
held  out  to  him  in  one  hand,  and  search  of  the  truth 
in  the  other  hand,  the  philosopher's  choice  would,  as 
a  rule,  be  the  answer  of  the  child."  The  process  of 
investigation  affords  keener  interest,  and  stimulates 
greater  curiosity  and  wonder,  than  the  actual  posses- 
sion of  the  thing  sought.  "  I  want  to  know  "  is  the 
indication  of  a  healthy  activity. 

How  often,  however,  is  inquiry  repressed  and  even 
stifled  ?  *'  Why  are  they  called  sisters  of  mercy, 
mamma?  "  ** That's  a  name  they  have  given  to  them," 
says  the  unappreciative  parent. 

*  Bacon's  De  Augmentis. 

D  2 


86  THE    CHILD. 


"  Little  children  must  not  ask  questions,"  says 
another  foolish  parent,  not  knowing  that  little  children 
are  born  notes  of  interrogation. 

H.  S.  was  an  original  inquirer.  Before  he  was  four 
years  old  he  studied  the  alphabet  by  his  mother's  side, 
and  commenced  putting  letters  together  and  forming 
words  by  his  unassisted  application.  He  was  inter- 
ested at  a  very  early  period  in  the  study  of  geography 
and  geology.  His  apprehension  of  the  spirituality  of 
God  was  drawn  forth  by  a  scripture  text,  "  Thou,  God, 
seest  me." 

In  many  instances,  far  from  encouragement  being 
given  to  a  child  to  pursue  the  bent  of  its  genius,  the 
child  has  succeeded  in  spite  of  the  difficulties  and  the 
opposition  it  has  had  to  contend  with. 

Blaise  Pascal,  from  his  earliest  childhood,  discovered 
a  remarkable  aptitude  for  mathematics.  Geometry 
therefore  was  kept  out  of  his  sight,  lest  it  should  inter- 
fere with  his  appointed  studies.  Nevertheless,  the 
force  of  his  genius  discovered  the  elementary  truths  of 
the  forbidden  science.  When  he  was  twelve  years  old 
his  father  found  him  in  the  act  of  demonstrating  a 
problem  on  the  pavement  of  an  old  hall  where  he  used 
to  play.  A  rough  diagram,  traced  with  a  piece  of  coal, 
was  found  to  be  a  proposition  corresponding  to  the 
thirty-second  proposition  of  the  first  book  of  Euclid. 
Other  discoveries  are  recorded,  following  on  the  earlier 
unfolding  of  his  remarkable  mind. 


INVENTION  OF  THE   TELESCOPE.  37 

How  a  little  girl  suggested  the  invention  of  the  telescope. 

Nearly  three  hundred  years  ago,  there  was  Hving  in 
the  town  of  Middleburg,  on  the  island  of  Walcheren, 
in  the  Netherlands,  a  poor  optician,  named  Hans 
Lippersheim.  One  day,  in  the  year  1608,  he  was  work- 
ing in  his  shop,  his  children  helping  him  in  various 
small  ways,  or  romping  about  and  amusing  them- 
selves with  the  tools  and  objects  lying  on  his  work- 
bench, when  suddenly  his  little  girl  exclaimed  : — "  Oh, 
Papa  !  see  how  near  the  steeple  comes  !  "  Half  star- 
tled by  this  announcement,  the  honest  Hans  looked  up 
from  his  work,  curious  to  know  the  cause  of  the  child's 
amazement. 

Turning  towards  her,  he  saw  that  she  was  looking 
through  two  lenses,  one  held  close  to  her  eye,  and  the 
other  at  arm's  length ;  and,  calling  his  daughter  to  his 
side,  he  noticed  that  the  eye-lens  was  plano-concave 
(or  flat  on  one  side  and  hollowed  out  on  the  other), 
while  the  one  held  at  a  distance  was  plano-convex  (or 
flat  on  one  side  and  bulging  on  the  other). 

Then,  taking  the  two  glasses,  he  repeated  his 
daughter's  experiment,  and  soon  discovered  that  she 
had  chanced  to  hold  the  lenses  apart  at  their  exact 
focus,  and  this  had  produced  the  wonderful  effect  that 
she  had  observed.  His  quick  wit  and  skilled  invention 
saw  in  this  accident  a  wonderful  discovery. 

He  immediately  set  about  making  use  of  his  know- 
ledge of  lenses,  and  ere  long  he  had  fashioned  a  paste- 


38  THE   CHILD. 


board  tube,  in  which  he  set  the  glasses  firmly  at  their 
exact  focus. 

This  rough  tube  was  the  germ  of  the  great  instru- 
ment, the  telescope,  to  which  modern  science  owes  so 
much ;  and  it  was  on  October  22nd,  1608,  that 
Lippersheim  sent  to  his  government  three  telescopes 
made  by  himself,  calling  them  ''  instruments  by  means 
of  which  to  see  at  a  distance." 


The  discovery  of  the  stethoscope. 

Laennec,  the  eminent  French  physician,  related  to 
one  of  his  friends  the  story  of  his  discovery.  Walking 
through  the  court  of  the  Louvre,  he  observed  some 
children  amusing  themselves  by  holding  a  cylindrical 
piece  of  wood  to  the  ear  and  scratching  with  a  pin  on 
the  further  end  of  it.  Thereby  they  produced  a  noise 
louder  than  the  scratching  of  a  pin  produces  under 
ordinary  circumstances.  Next  morning  visiting  his 
patients  in  the  Hospital  Necker,  he  extemporised  a 
hollow  cylinder  out  of  a  roll  of  paper,  and  applied  it 
over  the  heart  of  one  of  the  patients.  This  was  his 
first  stethoscope. 

,  Raphael's  first  playthings  were  the  implements  of 
his  father's  art,  and  the  latter  delighted  on  all  occa- 
sions to  encourage  tendencies  which  seemed  the  pre- 
sage of  an  extraordinary  vocation  to  the  noble  art  he 
himself  so  loved.* 

*  De  Quincey's  Lives  of  M.  Angela  and  Raphael. 


BOY  INVENTORS.  89 


Boy  inventors. 

Some  of  the  most  important  inventions  have  been 
the  work  of  mere  boys.  The  invention  of  the  valve 
motion  to  the  steam  engine  was  made  by  a  boy, 
Humphrey  Potter,  in  1713.  The  steam-engine  at  that 
date  was  in  a  very  incomplete  condition  from  the  fact 
that  there  was  no  method  of  opening  or  closing  the 
valve  of  the  cylinder,  except  by  means  of  levers  oper- 
ated by  the  hand. 

One  of  Newcomen's  engines  being  at  work  at  one 
of  the  mines,  a  boy  was  hired  to  work  the  valve-levers. 
Although  this  was  not  hard  work,  yet  it  required  his 
constant  attention.  As  the  boy,  Potter,  was  working 
these  levers,  he  saw  that  parts  of  the  engine  moved  in 
the  right  direction,  and  at  the  exact  time  that  he  had 
to  open  or  close  the  valves.  He  procured  a  strong 
cord,  and  made  one  end  fast  to  the  proper  part  of  the 
engine,  and  the  other  end  to  the  valve-lever.  Then  he 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  engine  work  with 
perfect  regularity  of  motion. 

A  short  time  after,  the  foreman  came  round,  and 
saw  the  boy  playing  marbles  at  the  door.  Looking  at 
the  engine,  he  soon  perceived  the  ingenuity  of  the  boy, 
and  also  the  advantages  of  so  great  a  discovery.  Some 
few  years  later,  Henry  Beighton,  in  1718,  worked  out 
the  boy's  invention  in  a  practical  form,  making  the 
steam-engine  a  perfect  automatic  working  machine. 

James   Watt,    almost   the   inventor   of    the    steam- 


OF  THE            *^ 
"KTTTrinT-i  «^ 


43  THE    CHILD. 


engine,  was  a  very  weakly  child.  He  early  manifested 
a  turn  for  mathematics  and  calculations,  and  took  a 
great  interest  in  machines. 

The  power-loom  is  the  invention  of  a  farmer-boy, 
who  had  never  seen  or  heard  of  such  a  thing.  He  cut 
one  out  with  his  knife,  and  after  he  had  got  it  all  done, 
he,  with  great  enthusiasm,  showed  it  to  his  father, 
who  at  once  kicked  it  to  pieces,  saying  he  would  have 
no  boy  about  him  that  would  spend  his  time  on  such 
foolish  things. 

The  boy  was  afterwards  apprenticed  to  a  blacksmith, 
and  he  soon  found  that  his  new  master  was  kind,  and 
took  a  lively  interest  in  him.  He  had  made  a  loom  of 
what  was  left  of  the  one  his  father  had  broken  up, 
which  he  showed  to  his  master.  The  blacksmith  saw 
that  he  had  no  common  boy  as  an  apprentice,  and  that 
the  invention  was  a  very  valuable  one. 

He  immediately  had  a  loom  constructed,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  boy.  It  worked  to  their  perfect 
satisfaction,  and  the  blacksmith  furnished  the  means 
to  manufacture  the  looms,  the  boy  to  receive  one-half 
the  profits. 

In  about  a  year  the  blacksmith  wrote  to  the  boy's 
father  that  he  should  visit  him  and  bring  with  him  a 
wealthy  gentleman  who  was  the  inventor  of  the  cele- 
brated power-loom. 

Judge  of  the  astonishment  at  the  old  home,  when  the 
son  was  presented  by  the  blacksmith  as  the  inventor, 
who  told  the  father  that  the  loom  was  the  same  as 


THE    YOUNG   MUSICIAN.  41 

the  model  that  he  had  kicked  to  pieces  but   a   year 
before. 

Smeaton,  the  great  mechanic,  when  a  boy,  disdained 
the  ordinary  playthings  of  boyhood,  collecting  the  tools 
of  workmen  whom  he  bothered  with  no  end  of  ques- 
tions. One  day,  after  having  watched  some  mill- 
wrights, he  was  discovered,  to  the  great  distress  of  his 
family,  in  a  situation  of  extreme  danger,  fixing  a  wind- 
mill on  the  top  of  the  barn.  His  father  sent  him  to 
London  to  study  law ;  but  he  declared  that  ''law  did 
not  suit  the  bent  of  his  genius,"  and  addressed  a 
memorial  to  his  father  to  show  his  utter  incompetency 
for  legal  pursuits.  His  father  acted  wisely,  and  finally 
allowed  him  to  do  as  he  wished.  It  was  he  who  built 
the  Eddystone  light-house. 


The  young  musician. 

Wolfgang  Amadeus  Mozart,  the  great  composer,  in 
infancy  listened  to  his  sister's  playing  on  the  harpsi- 
chord with  intense  delight ;  and  at  the  age  of  four  his 
father  gave  him  lessons  every  day,  and  in  his  fifth  year 
he  began  .to  compose  melodies.  He  was  taken,  at  the 
age  of  six,  on  a  tour  with  his  sister  for  the  exhibition 
of  their  musical  talents,  and  at  a  Franciscan  convent 
in  Austria,  he  surprised  the  monks  by  the  taste  and 
skill  with  which  he  played  the  organ. 


42  THE   CHILD, 


Imitation. 

Harold  (four)  dressed  himself  up  in  rugs,  and  stuffed 
a  towel  in  front  of  him  ;  "  There,"  he  said  to  his 
mother,  "  see  my  dress  improver,  mamma ;  I'm  a  lady 
like  you." 

Memory, 

When  Dr.  Johnson  was  a  child  in  petticoats,  and 
had  learned  to  read,  his  mother  put  the  Common 
Prayer  book  into  his  hands,  pointing  to  the  collect  for 
the  day,  and  said,  "  Sam,  you  must  get  this  by  heart." 
She  went  upstairs  leaving  him  to  study  it,  but  by  the 
time  she  had  reached  the  second  floor  she  heard  him 
following  her."  What's  the  matter?"  she  asked.  "  I 
can  say  it,"  he  replied,  and  repeated  it  distinctly, 
though  he  could  not  have  read  it  more  than  twice. 


Punning, 

Tom  Hood  may  have  punned  in  his  cradle,  even  in 
his  babyhood.  The  following  of  a  little  girl  of  three 
years  is  authentic.  Being  asked  if  she  understood 
the  phrase  in  the  nursery  rhyme  of  the  maiden  all 
forlorn  that  milked  the  cow  with  the  crumpled  horn, 
said,  "  Oh  yes,  I  know  it  means,  not  get  your  feet  wet 
on  the  grass,  off  the  lawn.'' 


SOCIAL  PRECOCITY.  48 

Muriel  when  five  years  of  age  remarked  to  her 
mother  when  her  father  was  traveUing  in  Spain  : — 
"  It's  very  lonely  for  dear  father  in  Barcelona  without 
his  wife,  perhaps  that  is  why  it  is  called  Barce-/ow«." 


Precocity  and  dulness. 

Precocity  has  its  marvels,  but  it  has  its  dangers,  and 
sometimes  it  forebodes  premature  decay.  Bishop  Hall 
wrote  : — "  I  never  dared  hope  much  from  those  great 
beginnings  of  intellect  and  of  memory  which  are  never- 
theless so  much  admired  in  children.  I  know  well 
that  a  child  must  first  come  to  his  strength,  and  if 
those  things  that  are  proper  to  a  later  age  show  them- 
selves earlier,  he  is  not  the  better  for  it." 


Social  precocity. 

Percy  (eleven)  : — "  It  is  easy  enough  for  me  to  love 
the  young  ladies,  but  not  so  easy  to  get  them  to  love 
me." 

Ernest  (five),  one  day  walking  home  from  school 
with  a  little  girl,  afterwards  met  one  of  his  father's 
friends,  who  pretended  to  be  ^rprised  that  he  should 
walk  with  her,  as  he  thought  he  preferred  the  society  of 
gentlemen.  "  So  I  do,"  said  Ernest,  "  but  the  ladies 
like  a  man." 


44  THE    CHILD. 


Intellectual  precocity  compatible  with  goodness   and  sim- 
plicity of  heart. 

Of  the  boyhood  of  Lord  Macaulay,  his  mother 
wrote  : — 

"  He  gets  on  wonderfully  in  all  branches  of  his 
education,  and  the  extent  of  his  reading,  and  the 
knowledge  he  has  derived  from  it,  are  truly  astonishing 
in  a  boy  not  yet  eight  years  old.  He  is  at  the  same 
time  as  playful  as  a  kitten." 

Dullness. 

Dr.  Thomas  Fuller  remarks  : — **  Hard,  rugged,  and 
dull  natures  of  youth  acquit  themselves  afterwards  and 
become  the  jewels  of  the  country,  and  therefore  their 
dullness  at  first  is  to  be  borne  with  if  they  are  diligent. 
That  schoolmaster  deserves  to  be  beaten  himself  who 
heats  Nature  in  a  boy  for  a  fault.  And  I  question 
whether  all  the  whipping  in  the  world  can  make  their 
parts  which  are  naturally  sluggish,  rise  one  minute 
before  the  hour  Nature  hath  appointed." 

Destructive  or  constructive  ? 

Toys  or  playthings  are  the  means  by  which  the 
child-investigator  enquires  into  the  structure  of  things ; 
and  the  pleasure  of  investigation  is  not  fully  attained 
till   the   toy   is   pulled    to    pieces.      "  What's   in    the 


REASON,  46 


drum  ?  "  is  the  great  question  of  the  enquiring  mind. 
True,  a  great  many  toys  go  to  a  complete  demonstra- 
tion. But  give  the  children  toys  of  construction,  and 
see  what  busy  and  successful  builders  they  will  become. 


Reason, 

A  child's  earliest  conception  of  God  must  needs  be 
inadequate,  incomplete,  and  often  grotesque.  Its  in- 
tuitions of  a  transcending  love  and  power  will  pro- 
bably be  much  nearer  the  truth,  than  any  formal 
representation  of  God  which  its  little  mind  may  have 
imaged.  The  ideas  thus  conceived  may  be  very 
natural.  They  are  readily  traceable  in  the  analogies  of 
father  and  offspring,  but  the  details  of  such  an  analogy 
are  often  very  intractable,  and  not  easily  adjusted. 
The  following  instance  is  to  the  point. 

Babs,  three  years  old. 

Mother  :  "  Good  night,  baby,  God  bless  you." 

B. :  '^  What  is  God  ?  " 

M. :  "  Oh  !  Our  Heavenly  Father,  you  know." 

B. :  *'  Oh  !  I  see  ;  a  Dadda  that  never  comes  down 
to  breakfast." 

Babs'  acquaintance  with  her  father  being  limited  to 
the  breakfast-table,  she  holds  him  in  great  contempt  if 
at  any  time  he  has  not  put  in  an  appearance  at  that 
meal. 

Enid  (four)  being  anxious  to  go  and  take  part  in  a 
funeral  she  was  watching  from  the  house  opposite,  was 


46  THE   CHILD. 


told  that  they  were  only  taking  away  the  body  of  the 
lady,  the  angels  having  previously  fetched  her  spirit 
home.  A  few  days  later  Enid  looked  wistfully  again 
at  the  house,  and  said  : — "  If  I  ask  very  gently,  do  you 
think  they  would  let  me  go  and  see  that  lady's  arms 
and  legs  ;  they  must  look  very  interesting  lying  on  the 
bed  alone." 

Babs  (two  and  a  half),  and  Enid  (four  and  a  half), 
modelHng  in  clay  from  a  pea-pod.  B. :  ''  Enid,  did 
God  make  this  pea  ?  "  E.  :  "  Yes,  Babs,  God  makes 
everything."  B.  (pulling  a  maggot  out  of  one  of  the 
peas)  :  ''  He  didn't  make  much  of  a  one  of  this,  did 
He,  Enid  ?  " 

Another  story,  on  the  same  authority,  supplies  a 
singular  example  of  theological  reasoning. 

Enid  and  Babs  in  bed  Christmas  eve. 

B. :  "  Enid,  does  God  give  us  all  our  toys  ?  thought 
it  was  Father  Christmas  !  " 

E.  (in  explanatory  tone)  :  "  But  God  tells  the  rein- 
deers what  chimneys  to  stop  at." 

B.  :   "  He  must  know  a  great  deal  to  tell  all  that." 

E.  (reflectively)  :  "  What  did  they  do  when  God  was 
in  Jesus,  because  there  was  no  God  in  the  sky  to  keep 
the  people  in  the  world  good." 

There  was  no  irreverence  in  these  little  children, 
who  in  their  simplicity  were  true  to  the  very  little  they 
had  been  taught,  and  as  they  were  never  left  to  ser- 
vants for  an  hour,  it  seems  as  if  they  evolved  their 
theological  notions  by  themselves. 


REASONING  47 


The  young  theologians'  posers. — "  Mother,"  said  a 
child  between  three  and  four,  "  when  God  was  having 
the  flood,  why  did'nt  he  drown  the  Devil  too  ?  " 

Gertrude  (same  age)  :  "Why  didn't  He  make  them 
all  good,  then  ?  " 


Reasoning. 

Practical  logician — George,  a  little  boy  of  five : 
"  Mother,  have  I  been  good  lately?"  "I  think  you 
have."  "  Oh  well,  I  shall  leave  off  praying  now,  for 
it  is  no  use  asking  God  to  make  me  good,  if  I  am 
good." 

Another  day  he  asked  : — "  Mother,  have  you  done 
growing  yet  ?  "  *'  Yes  ?  then  you  can't  grow  any 
better  than  you  are  ?  " 

Reasoning  from  inadequate  data — "  Mother,  who 
was  my  mother  when  you  were  a  little  girl  ?  " 

Faculty  of  comparison. — A  boy  of  six  drew  his 
mother's  attention  to  a  fly  which  was  contemplating  a 
drop  of  juice  upon  the  table  ;  he  remarked  that  to  the 
fly  that  drop  of  water  was  a  large  pond. 

Little  Harold :  "  I  suppose  God  learned  to  do  these 
clever  things  when  He  was  a  little  boy." 

His  analogical  reasoning : — "  Papa,  do  you  think  the 
birds  play  hide  and  seek,  when  they  call  cuckoo  ?  " 

On  another  occasion,  during  breakfast  and  while 
eating  eggs  and  bacon  : — "  Grandma,  do  fowls  lay 
bacon  ?  "     After   asking  how  old  the  world  was  and 


48  THE   CHILD. 


being  told  it  was  supposed  to  be  many  thousands  of 
years  old  before  Adam  was  created,  he  said: — "Oh! 
what  a  lot  of  weeds  there  must  have  been;  Adam  must 
have  had  enough  to  do  to  clear  them  all  away." 

A  little  child  at  two  and  a  half  years,  on  catching 
pussy  in  the  act  of  stealing  some  milk,  reproved  her 
thus  : — '*  You're  a  very  naughty  pussy ;  I  can't  love 
you  and  Jesus  can't  love  you,  at  least  not  very  much." 

The  logic  of  the  stomach, — Mabel  (seven  and  a  half), 
Christmas  morning : — "  We  had  better  not  eat  no 
brekner" — so  as  to  be  better  prepared  for  grandma's 
Christmas  dinner. 

A  boy  called  on  the  nurse  for  help  for  his  mother, 
"  who  had  had  a  new  baby."  Nurse  :  "  And  how  old 
is  mother's  new  baby  ?  "  Small  boy  :  '*  Oh  ;  we  don't 
know  yet,  mother  only  had  it  on  Sunday."  The  logic 
of  this  seems  to  be  that  the  age  of  a  baby  is  to  be 
determined  by  internal  evidence  as  the  age  of  a  tree  by 
its  rings. 

Child's  compliment  to  his  mother  : — 

John  (aged  six)  was  particularly  fond  of  Roman  and 
Grecian  history ;  he  had  a  great  veneration  for  his 
mother,  and  was  astonished  one  day  to  find  that  she 
did  not  know  everything. 

The  same  lady  was  once  a  governess  in  a  family,  and 
her  pupil  was  surprised  that  she  was  not  encyclo- 
paedic. In  her  indignation  the  child  went  to  her  father 
and  told  him  that  the  governess  was  not  fit  to  teach 
her  as  she  did  not  know  everything.    The  father  smiled 


THE  HEROISM  OF  CHILDHOOD. 


and   opened    his   child's  eyes  a  Httle  wider  when   he 
told  her  that  he  was  in  the  same  hapless  condition. 
Mabel  (five)  :  "  Mamma,  do  you  love  God  ?      Then 
I  shall  love  him  if  you  do." 


The  heroism  of  childhood. 

On  the  morning  of  the  third  day  out  from  Liverpool, 
a  young  stowaway  was  discovered  among  the  casks 
for'ard,  in  a  ship  bound  for  New  York.  He  was  *'  a 
little  bit  of  a  lad"  not  ten  years  old — ragged  as  a  scare- 
crow, but  with  a  bright  little  face,  only  fearfully  thin 
and  pale. 

He  stood  before  the  first  mate  on  the  forecastle,  sur- 
rounded by  crew  and  passengers. 

"  What  brought  you  here  ?  "  asked  the  first  mate 
grimly. 

"  It  was  my  step-father  as  done  it,"  said  the  child, 
in  a  feeble  but  steady  voice.  "  Father's  dead  and 
mother's  married  again,  and  my  new  father  says  as 
how  he  won't  have  us  brats  about  eatin'  up  his  wages, 
and  he  stowed  me  away  when  nobody  wer'n't  lookin' 
and  gave  me  some  grub  to  keep  me  goin'  for  a  day  or 
two  till  I  got  to  sea  "  ;  and  he  pulled  out  a  dirty  bit  of 
paper  with  the  address  of  an  aunt  to  whom  he  was 
to  go. 

The  sailors  believed  the  boy,  but  the  first  mate  was 
incredulous. 

"Look   here,  my  lad,"    said   he;    "that's   all  very 

E 


50  THE  CHILD. 


fine  but  it  won't  do  here.  Now  point  out  the  man 
who  stowed  and  fed  you,  or  it  will  be  the  worse  for 
you." 

The  boy  looked  with  a  bright  and  fearless  face,  and 
in  a  firm  voice  said,  "  I've  told  you  the  truth." 

"  Heave  a  rope  to  the  yard.  Smart  now,"  com- 
manded the  mate. 

The  men  looked  at  one  another  in  surprise,  but  they 
obeyed. 

The  rope  ready,  the  mate  said  to  the  little  lad  : — 
*'  Now,  my  lad,  you  see  that  rope.  I'll  give  you  ten 
minutes  to  confess,"  and  he  took  out  his  watch  and 
held  it  in  his  hand,  "  and  if  you  do  not  tell  the  truth 
before  the  time  is  up,  I'll  hang  you  like  a  dog." 

A  sullen  growl  of  remonstrance  passed  round  among 
the  men. 

**  Silence  there,"  cried  the  mate.  And  with  his  own 
hands  he  put  the  noose  round  the  boy's  neck.  The 
little  fellow  never  flinched,  but  some  of  the  sailors 
shook  with  excitement. 

"  Eight  minutes,"  shouted  the  mate  ;  "  if  you  have 
anything  to  confess,  you'd  best  out  with  it,  for  your 
time's  nearly  up." 

"  I've  told  you  the  truth,"  answered  the  boy,  very 
pale  but  quite  unmoved,  "  and  I  cannot  tell  a  lie. 
May  I  say  my  prayers,  please  ?  " 

The  mate  nodded,  and  the  little  fellow  went  down 
on  his  knees  with  the  rope  still  round  his  neck.  And 
putting    his    hands    together   he   softly   repeated   the 


THE   HEROISM   OF   CHILDHOOD.  51 

prayers  he  had  learned  from  his  mother's  lips.  Then 
rising,  and  folding  his  hands  behind  him,  he  said  to 
the  mate,  very  softly,  "I'm  ready." 

The  hard  heart  of  the  mate  broke.  He  snatched  the 
child  up  in  his  arms,  kissed  him  and  wept  over  him. 
"God  bless  you,  my  boy;  you  would  not  tell  a  lie  to 
save  your  life.  I  will  be  a  father  to  you."  And  the 
mate  kept  his  word. 

James  Bristow,  a  boy  of  eight  years,  lived  with  his 
mother  at  Walthamstow.  Mrs.  Bristow  went  out  on 
an  errand,  leaving  the  boy  in  charge  of  the  little  three- 
year  old  sister.  A  small  parafin-lamp  was  burning  in 
a  corner  of  the  room,  and  to  reach  it  the  child  climbed 
upon  a  chair,  and  upset  the  lamp.  The  parafin  caught 
fire  and  the  child's  dress  was  quickly  in  flames.  The 
boy  might  have  run  off  in  terror  to  find  his  mother ; 
but  he  tore  off  the  child's  garments,  and  put  her  on 
the  bed.  In  doing  so,  his  own  clothes  caught  fire, 
and  it  took  the  poor  boy  some  time  to  tear  them  off. 
He  succeeded  at  last,  but  he  was  so  seriously  hurt 
that,  though  taken  at  once  to  the  hospital,  the  in- 
juries proved  fatal  within  a  week. 

Is  it  too  much  to  say  that  the  presence  of  mind,,  the 
self-command,  the  fortitude  of  this  little  boy,  and 
above  all  his  self-obliviousness,  afford  a  glimpse  of 
that  spiritual  element  of  life  which  implies  a  Divine 
source  ? 

An  act  of  heroism  in  an  adult  is  often  prompted 
by  love  of  praise.     A  man  does  not  like  to  be  thought 

E  2 


52  THE    CHILD. 


a.  coward,  and  he  is  stimulated  by  a  sense  of  public 
opinion.  A  child,  like  James  Bristow,  is  not  worldly- 
minded  enough  to  be  swayed  by  such  considerations. 

Glory  and  honour, 

"  My  story  begins  at  the  moment  when  the  prizes 
are  given.  Now  fancy  the  scene.  The  Earl  (Lord 
Shaftesbury)  rises.  The  table  is  piled  up  with  articles, 
and  certain  boys  approach  one  by  one.  First  comes- 
the  winner  of  the  prize  for  punctuality.  Every  boy 
behind  had  had  his  chance  at  it,  and  there  stands  the 
boy  that  has  won  it.  He  takes  an  accordion  away, 
and  goes  back  to  his  seat  while  cheers  rise  from  every 
quarter  of  the  hall,  but  chiefly  from  the  five  hundred 
throats  and  five  hundred  pairs  of  clapping  hands- 
of  his  young  vanquished  competitors.  You  could 
scarcely  believe  it  possible  that  anything  awaited 
other  boys  to  be  compared  in  triumphant  joy  with 
this.  Then  comes  the  prize  for  writing.  Its  winner 
advances  to  the  front  and  receives  it.  At  this,  all 
the  little  fellows  there,  who  had  themselves  been 
leaning  over  their  desks,  sitting  on  their  bare-board 
forms,  with  their  pens  in  their  hands,  dipping  them 
in  ink-pots  just  above,  and  their  two  big  serious  eyes- 
fixed  on  the  words  between  the  lines  in  their  copy- 
books, steadily  making  it  true  to  the  copy  there — yes, 
all  of  them,  with  one  accord,  broke  out  afresh  in  a 
glorious   uproar,  and  the  boy  that    had    beaten   them- 


GLORY  AND  HONOUR.  SB 

all  carried  off  a  desk.  Next  came  the  thrift  prize  for 
the  boy  who  had  spent  the  least  of  his  pocket  money, 
and  saved  the  most  in  his  box.  His  thrift  might  have 
been  the  act  of  self-denial,  but  I  fear  it  had  in  it  some 
element  of  meanness,  for  the  cheers  lost  a  little  of  their 
swing.  Others  came,  and  as  each  carried  off  his  prize 
hands  and  voices  fell  to  clapping  and  shouting,  f^ad 
hearts  seemed  to  boUnd  and  sing.  Then  the  next  bo^' 
came.  Suddenly  all  the  joy  went  out  of  the  place  a^ 
light  goes  when  the  gas  is  put  out.  And  there  was 
a  dead  silence.  To  everybody  it  seemed  as  if  some- 
thing was  going  to  happen.  The  whole  place  became 
almost  breathless.  What  was  the  matter  ?  What  we 
saw  was  a  little  figure  standing  at  one  end  of  the  table, 
evidently  timid,  and  screwing  up  his  courage,  for  he  was 
very  pale  and  had  put  out  his  fingers  on  to  the  edge  of 
the  table,  as  it  would  seem  to  steady  himself.  The  Earl 
said,  '  I  have  now  the  honour — ,'  and  he  paused,  and 
drew  himself  up,  as  if  making  room  for  a  great  swell  of 
feeling,  at  the  same  time  lifting  something  from  the 
table  almost  reverently  (it  was  a  little  box).  He  open- 
ed it,  and  took  into  his  hand  a  small  round  medal. 
The  audience  at  each  second  became  stiller  and  with 
almost  distressing  suspense  ;  and,  to  catch  every  word 
that  was  to  be  spoken,  it  became  stillness  itself.  The 
Earl  continued  in  a  subdued  tone,  '  This  boy  has 
saved  life  1  '  That  boy  ?  A  something  went  right 
through  the  place.  The  audience  could  restrain  itself 
no  longer,  and  broke  out  in  tumultuous  cheers  again 


54  THE   CHILD. 


and  again,  hands  and  feet  and  voices.  Handkerchiefs 
were  waved,  and  hundreds  of  strong  men  were  in  tears. 
Meanwhile  the  Earl  was  pinning  a  medal  on  the 
child's  jacket,  and  the  child  himself  was  lifting  the 
hand  he  had  put  out  to  the  table,  and  drawing  the 
back  of  it  across  his  eyes.  He  could  save  life,  it 
seemed,  but  he  could  not  stand  praise,  and  he  quietly 
sidled  away.  But  his  comrades  behind  the  chair 
would  not  allow  that.  They  gave  great  cries  of 
'  hurrahs,'  which  quivered  with  feelings  that  had 
been  in  no  shouts  before,  standing  on  the  seats,  and 
looking  over  one  anothers'  heads.  And  the  boys  who 
had  won  the  writing-desks  and  accordions,  as  he  went 
by,  put  them  down  and  clapped  him  on  the  back. 
He  had  undoubtedly  done  better  than  they  all." 

"  Now,  those  lads  felt  something  of  the  grand  sacred 
feeling  with  which  all  heaven  casts  down  its  crowns, 
and  shouts  the  supreme  triumphant  glory  of  Jesus ;  for 
that  boy  had  in  him  some  of  the  glory  sacred  with  the 
sanctity  of  God,  and  which  all  creatures  were  made  to 
do  homage  to,  the  glory  which  is  the  especial  glory  of 
the  Saviour  of  the  world."* 


Prejudice. 

The  prejudice  of  a  child  is  not  always  deep-rooted. 
*'A   gentle-looking   girl  of  about    six  years  of  age, 

*  Address  to  Children  on  Glory  and  Honour,  by  Rev.  Benjamin  Waugh, 
Oct.  1883. 


SOCIAL  DISTINCTIONS.  55 

whose  father  was  a  much-respected  European,  and 
whose  mother  was  an  Arab,  surprised  me  very  much 
one  day,  by  saying  in  Arabic,  without  any  provocation, 
and  with  a  gesture  of  scorn,  to  a  Jewish  workman, 
*  Go,  thou  Jew,  and  be  crucified. '  The  child  naturally 
good-natured  and  affectionate,  shuddered  when  she 
partially  understood  how  cruel  and  unjust  her  words 
were.  By  my  wish,  she  begged  pardon  of  the  Jew, 
and  then,  by  her  own  impulse,  and  to  his  great 
wonder,  kissed  his  hands,  while  tears  stood  in  her 
eyes."* 


Social  distinctions,  rank,  &c. 

Nothing  can  be  clearer  than  the  New  Testament 
teaching  on  the  question  of  rank— of  social  position — 
in  relation  to  the  kingdom  which  is  "  not  of  this 
world."  The  brother  of  low  degree  is  to  rejoice  in 
his  exaltation,  and  the  brother  of  high  degree  is  to 
triumph  over  the  accidents  of  birth,  and  to  rejoice 
that  he  finds  himself  on  an  equally  grand  footing  as 
the  humblest  in  this  world's  estimate. 

Does  childhood  forecast  this  "  equality  "  of  the  King- 
dom ?  Was  the  child  that  Jesus  took  and  set  in  the 
midst  of  His  disciples  the  child  of  a  prince  or  of  a 
peasant  ?  The  question  is  out  of  place.  It  was  a 
child,  and  the  child  was  to  be  regarded  as  stripped  of 
all  accidents  of  birth  and  parentage.     The  ideal  child 

*  Rogers'  Domestic  Life  in  Palestine,  p.  i8g. 


56  THE   CHILD. 

was  represented  by  the  particular  specimen  that  hap- 
pened to  be  at  hand. 

The  friend  to  whom  this  suggestion  was  first  made 
remarked  that  it  was  all  very  well  to  speak  of  poverty 
as  a  blessing  and  to  look  with  interest  on  a  poor  child, 
but  that  wealth  even  for  children  had  its  advantages  ; 
but  he  did  not  quite  realize  the  position.  It  is  not  a 
question  of  wealth  or  poverty.  Either  may  be  a 
temptation  and  a  curse.  But  both  are  the  accidents 
and  not  the  essentials  of  a  man  or  child. 

But  here  is  the  charm  of  the  point.  The  child,  as 
such,  is  unconscious  of  what  is  regarded  as  the  social 
degradation  of  its  poverty ;  or,  if  born  to  wealth,  is 
uninfluenced  by  the  habits  of  thought  and  feeling  en- 
gendered by  wealth.  The  spirituality  of  the  ckild's 
nature  has,  as  yet,  received  none  of  the  lights  and 
shadows  of  poverty  and  riches,  and  everyone  has  pro- 
bably had  opportunity  of  noticing  the  fraternizing  of 
two  children  coming  from  opposite  ranks  of  life.  The 
accidents  are  overlooked ;  the  essentials  are  recognized. 
The  children  are  brothers,  and  they  have,  as  yet,  no 
social  distinction  to  restrain  them.  On  the  one  side 
there  is  no  pride  to  assert  itself;  on  the  other,  no 
shame  to  hide,  and  thus  they  will  play  together  in  the 
streets  of  their  Jerusalem. 

The  Christian  "  world "  may  get  some  help  and 
guidance  from  such  little  children. 

When  he  was  a  boy,  the  late  Prince  Imperial  of 
France  left  the  Tuileries  one  day  for  a  ramble,  having 


CHILDHOOD    UNMORAL.  67 

been  seized  with  a  strong  desire  to  go  and  join  some 
boys  who  were  snow-balHng.  He  returned  after  an 
absence  of  about  four  hours,  to  find  his  parents  in  the 
utmost  agitation  as  to  what  had  become  of  him.  The 
Httle  King  of  Rome,  Napoleon  the  First's  son,  once 
wanted  to  play  truant  in  the  same  way,  but  was 
checked  in  time.  He  then  declared  with  many  tears, 
that  he  wanted  to  go  and  make  mud-pies  with  some 
dirty  boys  who  were  playing  on  the  quays  of  the  Seine. 

Childhood  unmoral. 

*'  Because  man  cannot  succeed  in  poising  himself 
against  Nature,  it  does  not  follow  that  he  cannot  take 
her  hand  and  be  lifted  to  her  level.  But  this  would  be 
his  becoming  unmoral^  as  a  little  child.  (Here,  per- 
haps, is  where  the  precepts  of  Christ  have  appeared 
unpractical  or  impossible.  We  have  not  noticed  this 
basis  of  them  all.  He  is  supposing  men  to  have 
accepted  the  becoming  as  a  little  child).  We  have  not 
recognized  this  element  in  being  raised  to  the  level  of 
Nature,  and  have  sought  it,  if  at  all,  combined  with 
our  morality.  The  question  is: — Is  Nature  infra-moral 
or  super-moral  ?  "* 

"  When  we  know  that  exactly  in  proportion  as  a 
man  is  more  a  man  and  worthier,  so  are  things  not 
evil  to  him,  which  are  evil  to  those  less  worthy,  and 
when  we  know,  too,  that  Christ  set  a  little  child  as  His 
pattern,  to  whom  things  are  not  evil."t 

*  Hinton's  Law-Breaker,  p.  299.  f  Ibid.,  p.  300. 


58  THE    CHILD. 


"The  advance  comes  through  the  children.  The 
difficulty  of  the  grown-up  men  and  women  is  not  that 
they  cannot  take  up  the  new  right,  but  that  they 
cannot  let  go  the  old.  But  this  latter  has  not  to  be 
done  by  the  children  at  all.  The  change  is  in  two 
portions,  one  hard,  the  other  not  hard.  Now,  the 
children  have  only  one  of  these  to  do,  that  which  is 
not  hard  ;  the  hard  one  does  not  come  to  them."* 

A  boy  of  five  years  sometimes  asked  his  father 
troublesome  questions,  but  his  father  gave  him  an 
answer  in  long,  hard  words  that  the  child  had  never 
heard;  but  George  would  never  acknowledge  that  he 
did  not  understand,  and  answered  on  such  occasions, 
"  Thank  you,  I  see." 

May  we  not  hope  that  in  this  case  there  was  not  so 
much  a  false  assumption  of  knowledge  as  a  loving 
desire  to  appreciate  the  father's  kind  but  doubtfully 
wise  explanation  ? 

Unmoral. — Little  boy  wearied  with  school  tasks 
sighed  : — "  Oh,  if  all  the  world  would  but  agree  to 
know  a  little  less  !"t 

Explanatiom. — Ernest  (five).  One  day  he  asked 
where  the  old  moons  went  to.  Nurse  tried  to  explain 
to  him  that  it  was  the  same  moon,  but  he  was  sure 
there  must  be  old  ones  if  there  were  new  ones.  Pre- 
sently he  said: — "I'll  tell  you  where  the  old  ones  go  to, 
they  drop  down  behind  the  clouds,  and  the  new  ones 
spring  out  of  the  clouds,  the  same  as  crocuses  do  out 
of  the  earth." 

*  Ibid.,  p.  302.  t  Parent's  Review,  Jan.  1894. 


Utniversitt) 

DO    WE    UNDERSTAND   OUR   CHILDREN?         59 


Do  we  understand  and  trust  our  children  ? 

"  I  once  had  a  boy,  the  son  of  a  Methodist  minister, 
— you  would  think  a  minister  ought  to  understand 
his  boy.     This  boy  came  to  my  school.     His  father 

thought  he  was  converted His  father  brought 

him  to  me  and  said,  *  I  want  you  to  take  this  boy ;  he 
is  very  bad,  but  I  can  do  nothing  with  him.  You  do 
a  very  good  work  here  ;  I  should  like  you  to  try  him.' 
I  looked  into  the  boy's  face.  There  was  a  talismanic 
(that  is  not  the  right  word,  but  it  will  do)  look  passed 
between  him  and  myself,  and  I  thought  I  could  do 
something  with  him.  There  came  a  time  when  it 
was  necessary  to  decide  as  to  the  truthfulness  of  this 
boy.  The  teacher  brought  certain  charges  which  the 
boy  denied.  The  teacher  did  not  understand  the 
character  he  was  dealing  with,  but  I  felt  certain  that 
the  boy's  story  was  straight,  and  when  the  charges 
had  been  made,  I  said  to  the  boy  '  State  your  case.' 
And  when  he  was  through  I  said,  '  I  believe  you.' 
The  boy  burst  into  tears.  He  did  not  know  what 
to  say.  Why,  it  was  the  first  "time  in  his  life  that 
he  had  found  somebody  who  absolutely  believed 
him.  He  turned  all  kinds  of  colours.  He  went  to 
his  seat  and  I  dismissed  the  teacher.  The  boy  came 
into  my  office  a  few  minutes  afterwards,  and  took  me 
by  the  hand,  still  sobbing.  He  said,  '  Mr.  Packard,  I 
will  never  do  a  bad  thing  again  in  your  school,  as  long 


m  THE   CHILD. 


as  I  live.'  I  said  '  Why  ? '  '  Because  you  believe  I 
told  the  truth,  and  I  did  tell  the  truth ;  and  I  am  going 
to  show  that  I  deserve  the  confidence.' 

*'  In  a  week  his  father  came  to  see  me.  He  walked 
up  to  me  and  said,  'You  have  given  me  a  son,  and  I 
want  to  thank  you.'  I  said  '  I  don't  understand.' 
He  answered,  '  I  didn't  know  my  own  boy.  I  thought 
him  converted,  but  he  was  not.  You  converted  him ; 
he  is  the  talk  of  the  neighbourhood ;  he  cannot  think 
anything  wrong ;  he  cannot  do  anything  wrong."  * 

Christian  portraiture  anticipated  in  a  little  child. 

See  his  clear  large  eyes  :  mark  his  plump  cheeks : 
no  wrinkles  on  his  brow :  no  lines  of  thought.  Do  you 
charge  him  with  carelessness,  with  thoughtlessness  ? 

What  did  Jesus  say  to  His  disciples  ?  "  Take  no 
thought  for  the  morrow  /  "  "Be  careful  for  nothing  !  " 
O  blessed  childhood  ! 

Receptivity. 

"  Except  ye  receive  the  kingdom  of  heaven  as  a  little 
child  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  therein." 

Here,  the  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  a  little  child — 
the  nature  possessed  by  our  Lord — served  Him  with  a 
striking  illustration.  It  was  not  easy  to  convey  to  His 
disciples  a  true  conception  of  His  kingdom.  But  a 
little  child  might  help  them. 

*  Parent's  Review,  Nov.  1893. 


RECEPTIVITY.  61 


What  is  that  in  a  Httle  child  which  commends  itself 
as  a  feature  one  would  like  to  reflect  ? 
•  We  are  familiar  with  such  explanations  as  are 
usually  given ;  such  as  the  child's  *  humility,'  '  simpli- 
city,' &c. ;  but  our  Lord  tells  us  in  the  shortest  possi- 
ble way  what  He  means.  He  says  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  to  be  received;  and  thus  we  get  the  very 
attitude  of  mind  necessary  to  its  reception. 

The  receptivity  of  a  child  is  much  greater  in  early  or 
in  earliest  years  than  afterwards.  It  is  as  yet  more 
passive  than  active.  It  is  now  susceptible  of  unfading 
impressions,  for  earliest  impressions  are  most  ineradic- 
able.    The  child's  mind  has  no  preoccupations. 

Place  the  child  in  relation  with  any  object  it  has  not 
before  observed.  It  is  quiet,  its  activities  are  com- 
pletely arrested.  For  its  little  mind  receiving  and 
absorbing  impressions,  impressions  reaching  its  mind 
through  the  senses,  wonder,  admiration,  fear,  curiosity 
and  other  feelings  are  awakened.  The  child  is  acted 
upon,  it  is  not  acting.  The  activities  are  aroused  in 
due  course. 

Our  Lord  says  that  to  enter  into  the  Kingdom,  a 
man  must  become  a  little  child.  He  receives,  and  by 
means  of  his  receiving  he  enters. 

The  narrative  in  Mark's  Gospel  (x.  13 — 17),  is 
followed  by  the  story  of  the  young  man  who  came 
running  to  Christ,  and  who  asked  Him  the  question, 
"  What  shall  I  do  that  I  may  inherit  eternal  life  ?  " 
Our  Lord    knew   and    at   once    revealed   the   man   to 


62  THE    CHILD. 


himself.  He  was  not  a  child.  Alas !  all  the  avenues 
to  his  receptive  faculties  were  choked  up  with  hard 
cash.  "  He  was  very  rich."  His  soul  was  pre- 
occupied, "and  he  went  away  sad."  He  had  too 
much  to  carry.  He  would  not  become  a  receptive 
Jittle  child.  He  was  too  full  to  receive  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

Another  glimpse  of  the  Master's  intimate  knowledge 
of  human  nature  is  brought  to  our  mind  in  what 
follows :  "  I  thank  thee,  O  Father,  that  Thou  hast  hid 
these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast 
revealed  them  unto  babes.'' 

Here  we  have  the  two  great  obstacles  to  the  recep- 
tion of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  One  of  these  is 
represented  by  the  rich  young  man,  the  type  of 
worldly-mindedness,  and  heart-absorption  in  wealth  ; 
the  other  is  found  in  human  philosophy,  and  usually  in 
a  theologic  form. 

A  little  child  is  free  from  both  these  forms  of  en- 
tanglement and  spiritual  destruction.  It  is  destitute 
of  earthly  possessions ;  therefore  it  is  capable  of 
receiving.  It  has  no  notions  in  its  head ;  therefore  it 
has  no  difficulties  of  belief.  The  heart  is  free.  The 
mind  is  free.  Men  and  women  must  empty  them- 
selves of  self  in  all  its  forms,  in  order  to  be  receptive. 
Thus  they  become  once  more  little  children.  This  is 
only  another  way  of  saying  "  Ye  must  be  born  again," 
is  it  not  ? 

It  is  its  receptivity  that  makes  a  little  child  so 
charming. 


FAITHFULNESS.  68 


Filial  affection  and  God's  Heaven. 

"A  boy  of  six  years  named  Tommy  Lloyd,  son  of 
Mr.  James  Lloyd,  residing  in  the  mountain  hamlet  of 
Meingwynionmawr,  was  missing  from  home  during 
the  recent  snowstorm.  The  villagers,  armed  with  long 
staves,  turned  out  in  a  body  to  the  hills,  resolved  to 
spare  no  effort  in  finding  the  lost  child.  After  they 
had  spent  ten  hours  among  the  hills  and  valleys  a 
messenger  arrived  on  horseback  with  the  news  that 
the  missing  boy  had  safely  arrived  at  Llwynwermwent, 
near  Newquay,  where  his  mother  was  visiting  some 
friends.  So  great  had  been  the  little  fellow's  longing 
for  his  mother  that  he  braved  the  bitter  cold  and 
blinding  drifts  of  snow  and  accomplished  a  journey 
of  seven  miles  over  the  bleakest  uplands  in  Cardigan- 
shire." * 

Ernest,  aged  three  (to  his  nurse),  "  I  should  like  papa 
and  me  to  go  to  Heaven  ;  "  then  followed  rapidly  a  list 
of  his  relations  who  were  to  go  there  too,  ending  with, 
^*  How  happy  we'll  all  be  when  God  is  ready  for  us." 

Faithfulness. 

"  In  Mr.  Giammal's  establishment  there  were  several 
black  servants, — good-natured  Abyssinian  girls.  They 
looked  very  picturesque  in  their  holiday  dresses.     One 

*  Daily  News,  Jan.  i6,  1893. 


64  THE  CHILD. 


day  there  was  great  rejoicing  among  them,  and  cries 
of  congratulation  echoed  throughout  the  house.  I 
inquired  the  cause.  I  found  that  a  young  slave  girl 
who  had  been  hired  by  Mr.  Giammal,  had  just  been 
set   free.     She   was  the   property   of  an  Arab  widow 

lady The  poor  girl  was  at  first  quite  overcome 

with  delight  and  wonder,  but  on  reflection  she  seemed 
almost  to  tremble  at  the  loneliness  and  responsibility 
of  her  new  position.  She  asked  her  mistress  if  she 
could  always  love  her  just  as  much  as  she  had  loved 
her  before,  and  added,  '  I  would  rather  keep  your  love 
than  gain  my  freedom.'"* 


What  only  a  child  can  do. 

Being  in  Brussels,  I  visited  the  Royal  Lace  Factory. 
In  the  Atelier  I  watched  the  women  and  girls  at  work 
on  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  their  artistic  labour. 
One  was  quite  an  old  woman,  who,  in  her  spectacles, 
was  still  able  to  do  a  full  day's  work,  at  which  she 
contentedly  earned  two  francs  a  day.  She  had  been 
at  it  over  forty  years.  Sight,  as  a  rule,  goes  much 
sooner. 

"And  how  old  are  they  when  they  begin  to  learn 
the  art  ?  "  I  asked ;  and  was  informed  in  reply  that 
they  commenced  between  the  ages  of  four  and  five. 
"That  is  very  young."  "Yes,  but  it  teaches  the 
children  the  lesson  of  patience ;    and,  if  they  did  not 

*  Rogers'  Domestic  Life  in  Palestine,  p.  377. 


WHAT   ONLY  A    CHILD   CAN   DO.  65 

begin  when  young,  they  would  never  acquire  the 
abiUty  to  do  such  fine  work." 

My  informant  seemed  to  think  that  patience  was 
about  the  highest  possible  attainment.  It  is  a  divine 
virtue,  but  not  the  only  one ;  and  it  is  to  be  wished 
that  hope  (another  great  and  healthy  virtue),  still  finds 
a  home  in  the  hearts  of  these  hard-working  people. 

But  I  was  struck  with  the  fact  that  the  art  must  be 
acquired  when  the  children  are  quite  young,  and  the 
spirituality  of  the  child  received  a  new  and  striking 
illustration. 

The  faculties  of  a  child  are  so  pliant,  so  fresh,  so 
clear,  and  the  work  of  the  Brussels  lace  is  so  fine  and 
delicate,  that  the  child,  before  its  perceptions  are 
blunted,  before  its  tastes  have  become  degraded,  before 
its  senses  are  made  coarse,  and  before  it  has  known 
anything  of  disobedience  and  discontent,  takes  readily 
to  a  life's  devotion,  whose  beautiful  productions  adorn 
a  princess  and  grace  the  most  fashionable  assemblies. 

Poor  little  child, — have  all  who  wear  your  lace  as 
patient,  as  contented,  as  happy  a  life  as  yours  ? 

And  you  can  acquire  what  older  people  were  in- 
competent to  attain :  and  you  can  do  what  older  hands 
were  unable  to  perform. 

Only  by  conversion,  and  becoming  as  little  children, 
can  the  world-encrusted  soul  acquire  once  more  the 
capacity  for  many  a  delicate  and  difficult  spiritual 
acquirement. 


THE   CHILD. 


The  wilL 

There  is  no  necessity  to  discuss  the  metaphysics  of 
what  we  recognize  as  Will  in  a  child.  Its  manifesta- 
tion from  a  very  early  period  none  will  dispute. 

It  may  be  observed,  however,  that  what  we  trace  in 
an  uneducated  adult  as  Will  determined  mainly  by 
emotion,  is  strikingly  evident  in  a  child.  The  will  is 
moved  by  emotional  impulse.  How  can  it  be  other- 
wise ?  Experience  has  as  yet  taught  nothing;  and 
reason  is  but  in  its  dawn. 


Musicians. 

Infant  prodigies  in  music  were  never  more  numerous 
than  now.     But  all  performers  are  not  composers. 

Among  the  most  remarkable  of  child  composers  may 
be  mentioned  the  boy  Handel.  As  is  very  often  the 
case,  the  genius  of  the  child  was  opposed,  and  Handel 
was  intended  by  his  father  for  the  profession  of  the 
law.  But  the  boy  got  to  the  clavichord  in  an  attic,  with 
the  sound  so  deadened,  that  he  might  follow  his  bent 
unknown  to  his  family,  and  as  an  infant  he  made  sur- 
passing progress  in  manipulating  the  instrument  as 
well  as  in  original  composition. 

Mozart,  at  the  age  of  five,  had  produced  several 
pieces  of  music. 

Harry  at  nine   months  would  listen  intelligently  to 


A    RAPID  AWAKENING.  67 

music,  and  at  four  and  a  half  years  of  age  he  sang  to 
a  large  audience,  making  an  hour's  entertainment  en- 
tirely himself. 

Artists  and  sculptors. 

Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  at  six  years  of  age,  produced 
excellent  portraits  of  Lord  and  Lady  Kenyon. 

Antonio  Canova,  almost  as  soon  as  he  could  hold  a 
pencil,  was  initiated  into  the  principles  of  drawing ; 
and  while  still  a  boy,  worked  as  a  sculptor  and  ac- 
quired fame. 

A  rapid  awakening. 

Miss  Martineau  tells  us  of  a  schoolboy  of  ten,  who 
laid  himself  down,  back  uppermost,  with  Southey's 
Thalaba  before  him,  on  the  first  day  of  the  Easter 
holidays,  and  turned  over  the  leaves,  notwithstanding 
his  inconvenient  position,  as  fast  as  if  he  were  looking 
for  something,  till  in  a  very  few  hours  it  was  done,  and 
he  was  off  with  it  to  the  public  library,  bringing  back 
the  Curse  of  Kehania.  Thus  he  went  on  with  all 
Southey's  poems,  and  some  others,  through  his  short 
holidays,  scarcely  moving  voluntarily  all  those  days 
except  to  run  to  the  library.  "  He  came  out  of  the 
process  so  changed  that  none  of  his  family  could  help 
being  struck  by  it.  The  expression  of  his  eye,  the  cast 
of  his  countenance,  his  use  of  words,  and  his  very  gait 
were  changed.     In  ten  days  he  had  advanced  3^ears  in 

F  2 


THE    CHILD. 


intelligence ;  and  I  have  always  thought  that  this  was 
the  turning  point  of  his  life.  His  parents  wisely  and 
kindly  let  him  alone,  aware  that  school  would  presently 
put  an  end  to  all  excess  in  the  new  indulgence." 


Scientific  observation, 

James  Ferguson,  the  astronomer,  was  the  child  of 
a  day  labourer.  The  day's  work  done,  the  boy  went 
out  into  the  fields,  where  he  wrapped  himself  in  his 
blanket,  and  lying  on  the  grass,  with  a  thread  on  which 
beads  were  strung,  measured  the  distances  and  move- 
ments of  the  stars.  He  was  taught  by  an  old  woman, 
through  whom  he  learnt  the  alphabet,  and  then  to  read, 
much  to  the  astonishment  of  his  father.  While  yet 
a  boy  he  discovered  the  properties  of  lever  and  axle. 
Though  to  him  an  original  discovery,  he  w^as  chagrined 
when  he  subsequently  found  books  recording  the  same 
discovery  by  others. 

The  great  Faraday  became  an  errand  boy  to  a  book- 
binder at  the  age  of  twelve.  A  year  later  he  was  a 
bookseller's  and  bookbinder's  apprentice.  He  now 
had  the  opportunity  of  making  acquaintance  with  the 
treasures  of  the  Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  Mrs.  Marcet's 
Conversations  on  Chemistry,  &c.  After  dipping  into 
these  works,  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
not  his  lot  to  be  "  a  deep  thinker  or  a  very  precocious 
person,"  thus  betraying  that  humility  which  remained 
a  charming  element  of  his  character  throughout  his 
splendid  career. 


THE   IMAGINATION  AND   THE   SENSES. 


Manners. 

Politeness.  It  is  the  custom  in  all  good  Spanish 
families  always  to  leave  something  on  one's  plate,  in 
order  not  to  appear  too  great  an  eater.  They  accustom 
their  children  to  this  habit  by  telling  them  frequently, 
"  Politeness  requires  you  to  leave  something  on  your 
plate  ;  don't  forget  this,  it  is  politeness."  At  the  table 
where  a  friend  of  mine  was  sitting,  a  little  girl  two  and 
a  half  years  old  had  reluctantly  left  a  portion  of  some 
sweet  dish.  She  leaned  towards  her  mother  and 
whispered  in  her  ear,  but  loud  enough  to  be  heard 
by  everybody  :  —  "  Please  mamma,  may  I  eat  politeness 
to-day?" 

Life  and  death  illustrated. 

Ernest  (five)  had  been  asking  about  his  heart  beat- 
ing, and  after  his  nurse  had  explained  it  he  said  : — 
"  Oh  yes,  I  know  now ;  it's  like  my  highlander  ;  when 
the  top  spins,  he  can  dance  ;  when  it  stops  he  can't  do 
it ;  that's  the  difference  between  life  and  death." 


The  imagination  and  the  senses. 

The  illusions  of  the  senses  are  usually  corrected  by 
the  reason ;  but  the  following  is  an  instance  of  the 
correction  of  the  imagination  by  an  appeal  to  the 
senses. 


70  THE   CHILD. 


Ernest  (four)  went  to  his  father's  office  in 
Birmingham  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  by  the  Queen, 
to  witness  the  procession  from  the  Town  Hall.  Hear- 
ing the  cheers  of  the  crowd,  he  began  saying  to  himself 
the  lines  of  Mrs.  Crewdson  from  The  Martyrdom  of 
Marius  : — 

"  And  the  clamours  of  the  people 

Through  the  Arch  of  Titus  roll, 
All  down  the  Roman  Forum 

To  the  towering  Capitol." 

Ernest  was  grievously  disappointed  not  to  see  the 
Queen  in  her  crown  and  robes,  and  remarked,  "  She's 
only  a  stout  old  lady  with  grey  hair." 

Children  are  original,  but  they  are  sometimes  apt  at 
quotation  as  witness  the  following  : — 

Ernest  (under  three)  on  his  father's  return  from  a 
tour  in  Scotland,  expressed  his  delight  as  he  followed 
him  into  his  room,  in  the  following  quotation  from 
*'  The  Spider  and  the  Fly :" 

"  Dear  friend,  what  can  I  do, 
To  prove  the  warm  affection 
I  always  felt  for  you  ?  " 

At  three  he  could  repeat  many  of  Lear's  Nonsense 
Rhymes.  The  river  Thames  was  pointed  out  to  him. 
The  passengers  on  the  steamer  were  much  amused 
when  he  at  once  repeated  : 

"  There  was  an  old  person  of  Ems, 
Who  casually  fell  in  the  Thames, 

But  when  he  was  found. 

They  said  he  was  drowned, 
This  silly  old  person  of  Ems." 


DEMOCRACY  AMONG    THE    CHILDREN.  71 

.   And  at  four  he  remarked,  "  My  papa  isn't  like  the 

busy  bee  ;  the  bee  improves  the  shining  hour,  but  my 
papa  improves  it  whether  the  sun  shines  or  not." 


Democracy  among  the  children. 

Is  childhood  affected  by  the  democratic  spirit  of  the 
age? 

Madge,  a  little  girl,  went  into  the  fields  one  day  with 
a  lady  who  took  her  camp-stool.  The  lady  had  sat 
down  by  a  field  of  mangolds.  After  a  little  time  Madge 
proposed  that  her  friend  should  now  stand  while  she 
took  the  stool.  It  was  suggested  to  Madge  that  she 
should  sit  on  a  mangold.  Madge  tried  first  one  and 
then  another,  but  with  the  same  result — she  tumbled 
off  them  all.  A  broad  hint  to  the  lady  that  she  should 
now  try  the  mangolds  and  let  Madge  have  the  stool. 

Muriel,  at  two  and  a  half  years,  was  discovered  in 
proud  possession  of  a  hammer  and  some  tacks,  and  on 
being  deprived  of  the  same  by  her  grandmother  in- 
dignantly flung  after  her  retreating  form  the  rebuke — 
"  Don't  be  selfish  grandma  !" 


The  preceding  facts  and  observations  have  been 
selected,  as  far  as  possible,  not  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing what  a  child  thinks  and  does  under  the  most 
favourable  conditions  of  early  training,  but  what  the 
child  must  be,  and  what  it  will  do,  apart  from  previous 


72  THE   CHILD. 


experience  and  anterior  to  the  time  which  brings  guid- 
ance or  promptings  from  without. 

Material,  either  objective  or  subjective,  upon  which 
the  httle  one  may  exercise  its  faculties,  must  present 
itself  to  the  mind,  and  appropriate  stimuli  to  the  for- 
mation of  purpose  must  rouse  the  imagination.  As 
much  as  this  there  must  be.  The  infant  is  utterly  un- 
equal to  an  a  priori  assumption.  But  more  than  this 
would  interfere  with  the  child's  individuality,  and  its 
unbiassed  action.  Its  mental  conceptions  would  cease 
to  be  original ;  and  our  surprise  would  vanish  when  we 
knew  that  decisions  arrived  at  under  the  direct  influ- 
ence of  its  surroundings  and  the  suggestions  offered 
to  the  infant  by  its  attendants,  had  been  impressed  on 
the  child's  mind. 

We  want  to  see,  with  the  minimum  of  personal  ex- 
perience, and  a  will  unbiassed  from  without,  how  the 
infant  will  behave.  It  will  now  form  its  own  con- 
ceptions of  its  little  bit  of  mental  property,  and  it  will 
make  its  own  experiments  upon  it ;  and  when  it  gives 
utterance  to  its  ideas  we  may  get,  what  w^e  may  fairly 
expect,  an  original  observation,  x  And  we  are  con- 
tinually amused  and  surprised  at  the  strange  con- 
clusions at  which  the  child  has  arrived.  We  pro- 
nounce him  clever.  We  are  astonished ;  but  our 
astonishment  is  often  due  to  our  failing  to  notice 
that  the  child  could  come  to  no  other  conclusion  from 
the  premises  than  that  which  it  had  reached.  Its 
facts  were  really  most  simple,  and  its  induction  the 


WHAT  A    CHILD   THINKS.  7* 

most  slender.  Its  startling  conclusion  was  really  in- 
evitable. We  are  surprised  at  the  child's  originality, 
because  his  standpoint  differs  so  widely  from  ours 
owing  to  our  mental  training  and  varied  experience. 
Our  course  of  thought  and  the  determining  factors 
of  our  action,  are  based  upon  the  training  which  has 
for  years  been  going  on  in  our  natures  and  characters. 

The  interest  and  value,  therefore,  of  instances  ad- 
duced in  the  foregoing  pages,  must  be  estimated  by  the 
degree  of  freedom  from  restraint  on  the  one  hand,  and 
on  the  other  hand,  from  external  suggestion  as  to  the 
lines  along  which  thought  may  travel,  and  the  un- 
fettered will  may  be  expressed. 

It  is,  doubtless,  difficult  in  many  cases  to  ascribe  to 
a  particular  story  the  part  played  in  its  evolution  by 
domestic  influences  on  the  child.  Still,  the  story  will 
generally  carry  with  it  sufficient  evidence  to  justify  the 
conclusion  as  to  the  independent  action  of  the  child's 
mind. 

The  illustrations  could  be  indefinitely  multiplied,  but 
these  are  sufficiently  numerous  for  the  purpose.  "  As 
a  child  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  But  the  im- 
portance of  his  thinking  will  be  greater  or  less  in  the 
formation  of  opinion  as  to  what  a  child  essentially  is, 
when  we  are  able  to  state  how  much  the  thought  is 
the  child's,  and  how  far  the  thought  has  been  put  into 
its  head  by  another. 

From  the  instances  adduced,  there  is  overwhelming 
evidence  in  favour  of  the  divinity  of  the  child's  origin ; 


74  THE    CHILD. 


and  this  is  the  main  conclusion  it  is  sought  to  establish 
in  these  pages. 

The  study  of  childhood  is  not  less  worthy  than  the 
investigation  of  the  beginnings  of  things  by  the  geo- 
logist, or  the  chemist,  or  the  natural  philosopher. 


THE   SEAMY   SIDE    OF   CHILD-NATURE.  75 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    SEAMY   SIDE   OF    CHILD-NATURE. 

To  affirm,  without  qualification,  that  a  child  comes 
into  the  world  complete  and  perfect  would  be  as 
absurd  as  it  is  untrue.  It  begins  its  existence  as  a 
bundle  of  potentialities.  It  is  full  of  the  most  tender 
susceptibilities.  It  is  a  delicately  strung  musical 
instrument.  A  sympathetic  touch  will  elicit  the  sweet- 
est tones ;  an  ignorant  rough-handed  person  will  evoke 
all  manner  of  discordant  noises. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  the  life  is  traced  in  its 
unfolding  and  during  its  most  early  stages,  mainly 
under  loving  and  wise  conditions,  and,  as  a  rule, 
brightest  anticipations  have  been  fulfilled.  The  child 
has  grown,  and  its  growth  has  been  watched  with 
satisfaction  and  delight  by  those  most  solicitous  for 
its  welfare. 

But  the  proper  treatment  of  the  infant  must  be 
directed  by  a  just  appreciation  of  its  necessities  and 
its  claims,  and  these  can  only  be  decided  upon  after  a 
careful  study  of  the  nature  of  the  child.  But  who  is 
sufficient  for  these  things  ? 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  a  young  mother  or 
a  nurse-girl,  into  whose  hands  the  babe  first  comes. 


76  THE   CHILD. 


will  more  frequently  than  not,  be  ignorant  of  its  con- 
stitution, and  quite  unprepared  for  the  duties  of  its 
education,  whether  physical,  mental  or  moral.  The 
child,  as  a  consequence  of  neglect  or  mistaken  kind- 
ness, is  troublesome,  disagreeable,  crying,  passionate. 
It  soon  acquires  a  bad  character,  and  if  its  parents  be 
theological,  the  little  one  is  set  down  as  a  remarkable 
victim  of  the  fall  of  Adam,  though  the  real  cause  of  the 
mischief  is  more  likely  to  be  the  fall  of  the  baby 
through  the  heedlessness  of  the  nurse. 

Accident,  blunder,  bad  temper,  over-indulgence  in  the 
nurse,  will  generally  be  at  the  bottom  of  the  manifes- 
tation of  evil  in  the  babe,  and  neither  Adam  nor  his 
latest  descendent  can  fairly  be  held  responsible  for 
what  we  call  the  seamy  side  of  childhood. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  heredity,  through  the 
wickedness  of  its  ancestors,  may  have  entailed  in  the 
poor  infant  constitutional  evils  that  no  training  will  be 
able  to  eradicate ;  but  the  fact  ought  to  excite  more 
tender  pity  and  enlist  the  fuller  sympathy. 

A  new-born  babe  may  be  said  to  be  morally  perfect 
though  its  perfection  is  purely  negative.  As  yet  it 
knows  neither  good  nor  evil.  It  is,  as  yet,  unmoral, 
simple ;  and  its  simplicity  as  regards  what  is  evil,  is 
that  which  the  Apostle  Paul  desired  for  his  disciples. 

Fostered  by  a  wise  and  tender  nurse,  the  infant's 
sensitive  nature,  like  a  small  fragile  craft  launched 
upon  the  stream  of  time,  will  be  screened  from  the 
blasts  of  cutting  winds,  sheltered  from  the  collisions 


THE    SEAMY   SIDE    OF   CHILD-NATURE.  77 

to  which  it  is  exposed,  and  kept  out  of  the  currents 
which  threaten  to  make  it  an  early  wreck. 

On  the  other  hand,  supposing  the  babe  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  an  unsympathetic  nurse  whose  handling 
is  provocative  of  discomfort  and  whose  mistakes  arouse 
reflex  feelings  against  the  injury  done  ;  an  Augustinian 
theorist  would  be  at  once  satisfied  that  such  a  specimen 
offers  an  infantile  demonstration  of  the  doctrine  of 
Adamic  corruption. 

May  we  not  take  a  more  generous,  nay,  a  more  just 
view  of  the  little  stranger,  and  find  out  some  more 
reasonable,  more  hopeful,  and  more  God-like  explana- 
tion of  the  evils  which  sooner  or  later  present  them- 
selves for  observation  in  the  experience  and  behaviour 
of  the  precious  infant  ? 

Take,  for  instance,  the  manifestation  of  "  anger." 
"A  worm  will  turn  when  it  is  trodden  upon,"  and  a 
baby  suffering  pain,  generally  by  accident  in  manipu- 
lating the  tender  little  thing — it  may  be  a  pin  accident- 
ally stuck  into  its  body — will  betray  the  suffering  in 
response  to  the  violent  stimulus. 

In  the  early  part  of  its  existence,  as  James  Hinton 
says,  its  actions  have  no  moral  value  ;  the  child  is 
neither  moral  nor  immoral  but  unmoral. 

Presently,  with  a  certain  measure  of  experience,  it 
learns  that  crying  brings  help  and  deliverance.  A 
friendly  hand  puts  matters  right.  A  scream  in  an 
infant  is  often  a  kindly  warning  to  a  mother  that  a 
wrong  has  been  done  or  a  duty  neglected. 


78  THE   CHILD. 


With  advancing  intelligence  it  learns  the  value  of 
tears  as  a  means  of  getting  what  it  wants ;  or,  as  a 
weapon  of  offence,  the  tears  stand  as  the  symbol  of 
dislike,  or  of  revenge  for  being  deprived  of  a  toy  with- 
out seeing  any  reason  why  it  should  be  treated  so 
badly. 

Our  primitive  ancestors,  characterised  by  impulsive- 
ness and  often  by  extreme  irascibility,  may  fairly  be 
debited  with  some  of  this  evil  tendency ;  and  this 
tendency,  supplemented  by  the  ignorant,  mischievous, 
and  often  cruel  treatment  of  parents,  will  hardly  fail  to 
develop  a  monstrous  character. 

Caprice  in  a  little  creature  of  eleven  months  mani- 
fested itself  in  a  violent  temper,  because  she  vainly 
tried  to  seize  her  grandfather's  nose. 

Perez  placed  this  passion  among  the  class  of  animal 
sentiments. 

Jealousy,  again,  is  more  or  less  common  among  all 
animals.  A  gentleman  of  the  writer's  acquaintance, 
cannot  make  any  demonstration  of  affection  to  his 
wife  but  the  collie  immediately  gets  excited  with 
jealousy ;  and  ceases  his  barking  and  is  at  peace,  as 
soon  as  some  attention  is  shown  to  him.  Who  has 
not  seen  a  jealous  child  making  itself  wretched  at  its 
parents'  mutual  caresses  ? 

A  child  sometimes  covets  a  thing  not  for  the  sake  of 
enjoying  it,  but  because  it  does  not  like  to  see  another 
possessing  it. 


THE  RECONCILER.  79 


Cruelty, 

What  is  called  cruelty  is  generally  the  result  of 
the  unreasoning  manner  in  which  a  child  will  con- 
duct its  investigations  of  the  phenomena  which  come 
under  its  notice.  A  child  is  attracted  by  a  fly  on 
the  window  pane.  The  movements  of  the  fly  stimu- 
late the  attempts  to  take  possession  of  the  poor  in- 
sect. The  child  has  no  intention  of  harming  the 
fly ;  he  only  wants  to  examine  the  object  to  which  his 
attention  is  drawn.  Very  likely  the  fly  gets  damaged  ; 
and  if  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  makes  the  child  a  vivi- 
sectionist,  and  the  fly  loses  a  wing  or  a  leg,  it  is  not 
necessarily  the  consequence  of  cruelty  in  the  child,  but 
merely  an  unfortunate  incident  in  the  pursuit  of  know- 
ledge. 

Resentment. 

A  child  takes  offence,  anger  is  aroused,  and  de- 
sire for  retaliation  is  excited.  But  like  the  feelings 
of  children,  pleasurable  or  painful,  the  passion  is  not 
very  deep ;  and  it  is  very  rare  for  a  child  to  cherish 
resentful  thoughts. 

The  reconciler. 

The  following  true  story  confirms  the  view  proposed, 
that  the  evil  thoughts  of  a  little  child  are  more  akin  to 


fiO  THE   CHILD. 


the  ruffling  of  the  surface  of  the  lake,  than  the  lashing 
into  fury  of  the  raging  sea. 

Mrs.  G.  was  out  one  day  when  she  came  upon  a 
group  of  children.  At  the  moment,  a  man  was  re- 
proving a  little  boy  of  four  or  five,  for  kicking  his 
sister.  He  passed  on  and  now  my  friend  took  the 
case  in  hand,  and  urged  the  offender  to  kiss  his  sister 
and  be  good.  He  flushed  with  anger,  and  was 
obstinate.  Mrs.  G.  then  said  to  the  little  girl :— "  You 
kiss  him,  then."  This  she  did  at  once,  and  the  little 
fellow  was  conquered  ;  he  flung  his  arms  round  her 
neck,  and  the  reconciliation  was  complete.  A  penny 
for  some  sweets  crowned  the  new-found  happiness. 

Quarrelsome  children. 

Richard  and  Jane  are  always  quarrelling  (ages  only 
three  and  four).  One  day  the  waves  of  contention  ran 
high — each  was  claiming  the  possession  of  the  moon  ! 

An  old  man,  not  far  from  eighty,  tells  me  that  the 
most  vivid  recollection  of  his  own  childhood  is  that  at 
three  his  passion  was  aroused,  and  he  lay  upon  a  form, 
striking  out  and  daring  anybody  to  come  near  him. 

Dissimulation, 

Training  is  necessary  to  make  a  child  a  dissembler. 
A  fifth  of  November  mask  over  its  face  looks  tempting, 
but  it  is  not  long  before  it  feels  hot  and  uncomfortable, 
and  the  child  cannot  tolerate  the  stifling  thing  that 


FORCE   OF  EXAMPLE.  81 

comes  between  it  and  the  fresh  air  of  heaven.  Dis- 
guises are  for  grown-up  people  who  can't  walk 
straight. 

Comparing  notes  with  the  young  Prince  of  Asturias, 
afterwards  King  of  Spain,  the  French  Prince  Imperial 
one  day  asked  him  what  lesson  he  found  it  hardest  to 
learn.  *'  It  is,"  said  the  then  future  King  of  Spain 
dismally,  "  not  to  laugh  when  I  am  amused  at  the 
theatre." 

"  They  let  me  laugh  as  much  as  I  like,"  said  the 
Prince  Imperial ;  "  but  what  I  don't  like  is  to  be 
obliged  to  smile  and  look  pleasant  to  men  whom  I 
know  are  my  father's  enemies." 

He  was  specially  alluding  to  Count  Bismarck,  who 
had  come  on  a  visit  to  Napoleon  III.  at  Plombieres, 
and  had  been  received  with  a  cordiality  which  the  boy 
knew  to  be  more  apparent  than  real. 


Force  of  example. 

A  little  girl  only  fifteen  months  old  had  already 
begun  to  imitate  her  father's  frown  and  irritable  ways 
and  angry  voice  ;  and  very  soon  after  she  learnt  to  use 
expressions  of  anger  and  impatience.  When  three 
years  old,  this  same  little  girl  gravely  said  to  a  visitor 
at  the  house,  with  whom  she  had  begun  to  argue  quite 
in  her  father's  style : — "  Do  be  quiet,  will  you,  you 
never  let  me  finish  my  sentences." 

UNIVERSITY, 


82  THE    CHILD. 


Lying. 

Lying  has  its  root  in  distrust.  Trust  is  the  normal 
state  of  a  child's  nature.  But  its  suspicion  is  soon 
aroused  by  a  harsh  word  or  a  frown,  confidence  is 
gone,  fear  is  excited,  a  sense  of  wrong  somewhere  is 
engendered.  The  child  is  right  in  trying  to  please,  but 
the  thing  to  please  is  said  instead  of  the  thing  which 
is  true  in  the  hope  of  averting  some  evil. 

Care  should  always  be  taken  to  ascertain  whether  a 
little  child  is  conscious  of  what  a  lie  means.  At  two 
years  of  age  Harry  told  a  lie  and  was  corrected  by  his 
mother.  He  looked  at  her  through  his  tears  and  said, 
"  "What  is  a  lie,  a  thing  you  put  in  your  pocket  ?  "  An 
explanation  sufficed  and  he  never  again  swerved  from 
the  truth. 

Envy  and  pride. 

Envy  springs  out  of  a  sense  of  one's  own  supposed 
inferiority  to  another's  real  or  imagined  superiority. 
Pride  results  from  one's  own  imagined  superiority  to 
another's  fancied  inferiority.  If  pride  fail  of  the 
recognition  it  claims,  it  becomes  a  cause  of  irritation 
to  its  possessor. 

John  Ruskin  maintains  that  pride  is  at  the  bottom 
of  most  of  the  miserable  mistakes  that  are  made. 

The  seeds  of  pride  are  very  early  sown  in  a  child's 
heart.     Fond  and  foolish  mothers  are  among  the  most 


PRAYING   CHILDREN.  83 

frequent  and  successful  sowers.  They  put  the  seeds 
into  fine  clothes.  They  drop  them  into  the  ears  of 
their  children  while  they  talk  to  their  friends  of  the 
pretty  faces  and  charming  ways  of  their  little  ones. 
Instead  of  checking  they  will  sometimes  applaud  the 
sauciness  and  the  haughtiness,  which,  before  all  things, 
they  ought  to  be  concerned  to  eradicate  or  uproot. 

Cunning, 

A  little  girl,  of  three  years,  was  young  enough  to  be 
put  to  sleep  every  afternoon.  One  day  she  found  that 
her  mother  was  going  out  in  the  afternoon.  She 
objected,  and  begged  her  mother  not  to  go.  But  her 
appeal  could  not  be  listened  to,  and  nurse  took  her  to 
her  bedroom  and  put  her  down  to  sleep  in  her  bed. 
The  nurse  left  the  room  and  then  the  little  thing  got 
out  of  bed,  found  her  mother's  boots  and  concealed 
them.  Time  was  lost  in  hunting  for  the  missing 
boots :  the  search  was  unsuccessful.  The  mother 
could  not  go  out.  When  the  child  woke  from  her 
sleep  she  was  discovered  with  one  boot  under  each 
arm. 

Praying  children. 

What  ?  it  will  be  asked,  are  not  children  to  pray  ? 
The  reader  will  frame  his  answer  to  the  question,  when 
he  has  read  the  following. 

A  little  boy  reminded  God  on  one  occasion  that  his 

G  2 


84  THE   CHILD. 


petition  had  "not  been  attended  to,"  and  requested 
that  it  might  not  be  forgotten  in  future. 

The  same  child  had  been  offended  by  his  governess. 
His  mother  saw  him  burying  a  piece  of  paper  on  this 
occasion  in  the  garden.  When  she  was  able,  unseen 
by  the  child,  to  dig  up  the  paper,  she  discovered  that 
it  was  a  request  to  the  devil  to  take  the  governess 
below. 

We  talk  of  virgin  soil,  and  of  its  prolific  character. 
This  is  the  soul  of  a  little  child.  The  moral  is  :  Take 
heed  what  you  sow. 

The  environment  of  the  child  should  be  healthy  and 
suitable  to  its  years.  Let  the  sowing  be  "  wind,"  and 
its  friends  will  reap  "the  whirlwind;"  for  as  we  sow,, 
we  reap. 

Disappointing  lives  come  of  neglect^  injudicious  train- 
ing, and  often  of  the  most  fearful  errors  in  the 
teacher. 


Total  depravity  ;  or  fading  light.     Which  ? 

Lord  Shaftesbury  relates  the  story  of  one  of  the  waifs 
and  strays  of  London,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  sleeping 
at  night  within  a  large  iron  roller  in  the  Regent's  Park. 
The  boy  found  another  lad  who  had  not  where  to  lay 
his  head,  and  at  his  invitation  the  '  neighbour'  shared 
his  iron  bedstead  with  him. 

"  During  his  perambulations  of  the  slums  of  London 
in   1846,  by  his  ragged  school  investigations,  &c.,  Lord 


TOTAL  DEPRAVITY.  85 

Ashley  made  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
haunts  and  habits  of  the  young  thieves  of  the  metro- 
poHs." 

"  A  large  proportion  do  not  recognize  the  distinctive 
rights  of  meum  and  tuum.  Property  appears  to  them 
to  be  only  the  aggregate  of  plunder.  They  hold  that 
everything  that  is  possessed  is  common  stock  :  that  he 
who  gets  most  is  the  cleverest  fellow,  and  that  every- 
one has  a  right  to  abstract  from  that  stock  what  he 
can  by  his  own  ingenuity.  With  them  there  is  no 
sense  of  shame,  nor  is  imprisonment  received  as  a 
disgrace."* 

Lord  Shaftesbury  recorded  this,  having  received  it 
from  the  lips  of  a  City  missionary,  a  kind  and  worthy 
man  who  had  endeared  himself  to  the  whole  of  a 
wretched  district,  and  especially  to  the  younger 
population. 

'*  One  evening  having  put  on  a  new  coat,  he  went, 
about  dusk,  through  a  remote  street,  and  was  instantly 
marked  as  a  quarry  by  one  of  these  rapacious  vaga- 
bonds. The  urchin  did  not  know  him  in  his  new 
attire, — therefore  without  hesitation  relieved  his  pockets 
of  their  contents.  The  missionary  did  not  discover  his 
loss,  nor  did  the  boy  his  victim,  until  in  his  flight  he 
had  reached  the  end  of  the  street.  He  then  looked 
round  and  recognized  in  the  distance  his  old  friend  and 
teacher.     He  ran  hack  to  him,  breathless,     "  Hullo,"  said 

*  Edwin  Hodder's  Life  and  Works  of  Lord  Shaftesbury.  Vol.  ii., 
p.  263 


86  THE   CHILD. 


he,   "  is  it  you  Mr. ?     I  didn't  know  you  in 

your  new  coat ;  here's  your  handkerchief  for  you  !  "* 


The  spoiled  child. 

In  a  subsequent  chapter  we  have  attempted  to  pre- 
sent the  child,  welcomed  by  Jesus  Christ,  as  an  ideal 
of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  but  we  may  here  ask  the 
question  : — What  is  a  spoiled  child  ? 

The  spoiled  child  is  a  child  that  nobody  likes.  His 
presence  in  a  home  makes  that  home  a  misery ;  and 
he  must  be  an  exceptionally  hopeful  person  who  will 
predict  for  that  child  a  career  of  happiness  and  pros- 
perity. 

He  is  not,  unfortunately,  so  uncommon  as  to  render 
it  necessary  to  portray  his  character,  and  it  would  be 
deemed  superfluous  were  we  to  attempt  to  describe  the 
means  of  spoliation. 

One  is  struck  at  the  outset  with  the  term  ^*  spoiled.'' 
To  spoil  is  (literally)  to  strip  off,  to  plunder.  And  we 
cannot  help  remarking  the  essential  identity  of  the 
nature  of  the  "spoihng,"  whether  we  observe  it  in  the 
occurrence  which  took  place  on  the  eve  of  the  de- 
parture of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt,  when  "  they 
spoiled  the  Egyptians  "  ;  or  whether  we  trace  it  in  a 
destructive  child  who  spoils  his  toy ;  or  whether  it  is 
forced  upon  our  attention  in  an  indulgent  parent  who 
spoils  his  child. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  264.  -  • 


THE  SPOILED   CHILD.  87 

The  spoiling  in  each  case  is  identical.  That  is, 
there  is  a  stripping,  or  deprivation,  of  some  valuable 
property  w^hich  belonged  to  the  object  spoiled.  The 
spoiled  Egyptians  were  deprived  of  their  material 
treasures.  The  spoiled  toy  is  deprived  of  its  essential 
properties  as  a  plaything.  And  the  spoiled  child  is 
deprived  or  suffers  the  loss  of  those  precious  qualities 
which  make  childhood  so  sweet  and  attractive. 

What  makes  the  spoiled  child  of  the  home  so 
sad  and  so  serious  a  matter  is,  that  the  home  of  that 
child  is  usually  responsible  for  the  domestic  trouble. 
The  spoliation  is  effected,  not  by  outsiders,  but  by 
relatives,  and  more  frequently  than  not,  by  an 
ignorant  indulgent  father  or  mother. 

Still,  the  spoiled  child  is  the  exception  rather  than 
the  rule.  At  least  we  have  found  it  so,  whether  we 
have  studied  childhood  in  the  homes  of  comfort  and 
ease,  or  in  the  more  humble  families  of  poverty  and 
privation. 

We  have  watched  children  in  the  Sunday  school. 
Take  the  infant  class.  Discouragement  has  come  at 
the  very  outset  of  our  work,  for  here  and  there  has 
turned  up  a  spoiled  child  of  the  home.  The  boy 
chafes  at  the  restraint  of  school  rules,  and  finds  it  a 
great  bore  to  have  to  learn  anything  at  all ;  the  girl's 
attention  is  diverted  by  her  bright  ribbon,  or  flower- 
decked  hat,  from  any  serious  attempt  to  forget  herself 
and  her  petted  prettiness,  while  both  boy  and  girl  have 
been  supplied  with  light  refreshments  in  the  shape  of 


88  THE   CHILD. 


"  sweets."  But,  happily,  these  are  the  exceptions, 
not  the  rule.  The  little  ones,  as  yet,  have  Heaven  on 
their  side ;  and  though  the  world  is  all  before  them,  it 
is  not  in  them  ;  and  almost  any  one  of  them  might  be 
taken  by  the  great  Teacher,  at  random,  and  his  beauti- 
ful lesson  would  not  suffer  from  a  nineteenth  century 
text.  For  we  doubt  not  he  would  still  say  to  the 
disciples — and  are  we  not  all  His  disciples  ? — "  Except 
ye  be  converted  and  become  as  this  little  child  .  .  .  .  " 

Now,  what  the  parent  is  to  the  home,  that  the 
teacher  is  to  the  Sunday  school  class.  And  the 
Sunday  scholar  may  become  a  spoiled  child  even  when 
the  teacher,  with  the  utmost  conscientiousness  and 
affectionate  interestedness,  is  loading  the  child  with 
his  good  things.  Verily,  paradoxical  as  it  may  appear, 
the  spoiHng  of  the  home  and  the  spoiHng  of  the  school, 
are  both  the  result,  mainly,  of  overloading  the  child. 

The  injudicious  gifts  of  the  home  are  the  very  means 
by  which  the  child  suffers  loss  of  his  most  precious  en- 
dowments;  and  the  overloading  by  the  teacher  of  the 
innocent  child  effects  a  similar  result. 

In  either  case,  the  child  is  being  spoiled  by  re- 
ceiving too  much ;  or  in  other  words  is  not  getting 
truly  at  all,  but  is  being  stripped  of  his  rightful 
property.  "  I  am  rich  and  increased  in  goods "  is 
simply  the  utterance  of  the  spoiled  child  "  writ 
large." 

But  how  are  little  children  spoiled  in  the  Sunday 
school  ? 


THE   SPOILED  CHILD. 


Our  answer  to  the  question  will  be  better  under- 
stood by  first  recognizing  the  fact  that  a  little  child 
is  supposed  to  be  most  suitably  welcomed  to  the 
school  with  a  feehng  in  the  mind  of  the  teacher  akin 
to  pity— ''  poor  little  thing  !  " 

"  Well,"  says  an  impatient  reader,  "  weakness  is  a 
prominent  feature  in  a  little  child,  and  surely  our  pity 
is  not  thrown  away  here." 

Think,  my  friend,  whether  your  pity,  though  natural, 
for  it  is  closely  allied  to  sympathy,  is  the  feeling  that 
should  have  the  fullest  and  deepest  current  in  your 
heart,  when  you  receive  "  one  such  little  one."  Do 
you  not  remember  that  the  Master  said : — "  He  that 
receiveth  one  such  little  one  receiveth  me  ?"  Did  John 
pity  "  the  lamb  of  God,"  when  he  drew  the  attention  of 
his  disciples  to  the  gentle  Jesus  ?  (John  i.  36).  How 
often,  if  you  have  been  a  careful  observer  of  God's 
ways  in  history,  have  you  noticed  that  He  has  chosen 
the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  mighty. 
Nay,  from  our  worldly  estimate  of  Power,  how  weak 
is  the  Almighty !  Even  His  high  purposes  seem  to  be 
sown  in  weakness,  but  only  that  they  may  be  raised  in 
power. 

How  remarkable  is  the  power  of  a  little  child  to 
arrest  attention,  to  excite  sympathy,  to  provoke  to 
love !  How  spontaneous,  disinterested,  and  ungrudg- 
ing the  help  we  proffer ;  how  irresistible  its  un- 
conscious demands  !  And  yet  this  word— irresistible — 
as  appropriate  as  any  we  can  think  of,  suggests  not 


90  THE   CHILD. 


merely  power  but  omnipotence.  How  often,  when 
others  have  vainly  sought  to  move  you  from  your  pur- 
pose, and  you  have  triumphantly  opposed  the  tempta- 
tion to  relinquish  your  occupation,  have  you  given  in 
to  the  silent  but  eloquent  appeal  of  a  little  pair  of  eyes* 
All  else  might  be  successfully  withstood,  but  "  the 
child  has  won  the  day." 

Our  pity,  then,  is  somewhat  superfluous,  but  as  this 
is  not  often  mischievous  in  its  effect  in  the  Sunday 
school,  we  will  pass  on  to  the  consideration  of  more 
serious  and  pernicious  means  of  spoliation.  And  we 
notice — 

The  superinduction  on  the  natural  spirituality  of  the  child 
of  an  artificial  religiousness. 

"  Seeming  to  be  religious,"  summed  up  the  character 
of  some  members  of  the  early  Christian  church  ;  and, 
without  being  uncharitable  or  censorious,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  it  describes  the  Christianity  of  many  in 
the  present  day. 

Think  of  the  child  as  a  plant.  To  secure  a  healthy 
plant,  the  soil  must  be  good ;  sunshine  and  rain  are 
essential ;  fresh  air  and  suitable  temperature  must  be 
obtained.  A  plant  may  be  robbed  of  its  vigour,  its 
growth  may  be  stopped,  and  decay  will  be  hastened 
by  withdrawing  it  from  its  natural  requirements.  The 
child  may  be  robbed  of  its  beauty,  its  power  of  deve- 
lopment, in  the  same  way.  Withdraw  it  from  Divine 
resources,  and  give  it  artificial  light,  heat,  atmosphere— 
and  it  will  be  spoiled. 


THE   SPOILED   CHILD.  91 

Thus  by  inducing  an  artificial  and  superficial  reli- 
giousness, the  qualities  which  Jesus  commended  in  the 
child  are  being  weakened,  repressed  or  destroyed. 

There  must,  doubtless,  be  regulations  of  time  for 
lessons  and  worship,  but  these  should  interfere  as 
little  as  possible  with  the  life  and  freshness  of  the 
individual  pupils. 

A  still  more  serious  means  of  spoliation,  whether 
in  the  home  or  in  the  school  class,  is  the  neglect  of  the 
spiritual  by  the  substitution  of  the  cultivation  of  the 
intellectual. 

The  stimulus  given  to  secular  learning  of  late  years 
has  been  extraordinary.  It  is  largely  due  to  competi- 
tion. Education  has  not  been  primarily  the  object, 
but  the  successful  passing  of  "  Exams. '' — The  method — 
cramming.  The  end  of  the  tutor  may  be  attained ; 
but  the  pupil,  instead  of  being  prepared  by  educational 
processes  for  the  affairs  of  life,  is  often  little  else  than 
pate  de  foie  gras. 

So  with  the  education  of  the  soul.  Its  faculties  may 
lie  dormant,  while  the  m.emory  is  being  stored  with  the 
scientific  or  doctrinal  system  of  Theology  of  the 
schools.     Instead  of  bread — a  stone. 

More  than  this.  Whole  books  of  the  Bible  may  be 
committed  to  memory  while  the  soul  of  the  child  is 
being  starved. 

The  soul  is  not  a  tank  for  storing  the  water  of  life, 
but  an  organism  whose  vigour  and  growth  must  be 
constantly  nourished  by  the  living  water. 


92  THE   CHILD. 


Theology  may  map  out  to  the  mind  the  goodly  land 
with  faithful  and  minute  detail.  It  may  trace  its 
rivers,  describe  its  mountains,  its  cities,  its  rich  pas- 
tures, its  mineral  wealth,  its  natural  products ;  but  a 
life-long  study  of  the  map  will  never  put  one  in  pos- 
session of  the  goodly  land.  The  journey  must  be 
begun.  The  land  must  be  entered.  The  grapes  must 
be  gathered.  The  fields  must  be  cultivated.  And  for 
all  this,  the  energies  of  the  man  must  be  put  forth,  and 
in  their  unfolding  the  strength  will  be  increased. 

The  end  of  spiritual  education,  then,  is  not  a  cram- 
ming of  the  mind  with  knowledge,  but  a  development 
of  spiritual  faculty  in  discernment,  in  holy  resolve,  in 
purity  of  living,  and  in  wise  and  loving  action. 

One  of  the  first  attempts  in  the  elementary  education 
of  a  baby  is  to  get  it  to  stand  upon  its  feet,  and  to  en- 
courage it  to  run  alone.  Here  we  have  the  great  func- 
tion of  the  true  spiritual  teacher  clearly  expressed.  He 
must  help  the  child  to  stand  and  to  walk.  You  may 
spoil  the  child  by  artificial  support  and  everlasting 
perambulator. 

Means  of  spoliation. 

There  are  many  ways  in  which  a  child  may  be 
spoiled.  Unintentionally  and  ignorantly  the  spoiling 
of  a  child  goes  on ;  and  there  is  often  a  rude  awaken- 
ing, when  the  eyes  of  the  spoiler  are  opened. 

Keeping  before  our  mind  the  essential  elements  of 


MEANS  OF  SPOLIATION. 


the  spiritual  nature  of  the  child  we  notice  its  un- 
conscious gentleness  and  humility.  This  results  from  a 
sense  of  its  dependence  on  another,  its  feeble  resources 
of  mind  and  body,  and  the  very  narrow  limits  of  its 
experience ;  and  is  not  this  humility  one  of  the  great 
charms  of  a  little  child  ? 

The  self-consciousness  of  a  little  child  is  quickly 
aroused  ;  and  with  consciousness  of  self  the  spoiling 
has  begun.     The  humility  of  the  child  is  endangered. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  recitation  of  poetry  before 
company  or  in  public,  after  forcing  the  little  brain 
to  commit  it  to  memory;  the  subjects  being  most 
frequently  unsuited  to  the  capacity  and  sphere  of  the 
child,  and  even  unintelligible. 

That  shrewd  and  sympathetic  observer,  Dr.  Johnson, 
understood  this.  He  was  exceedingly  disposed  to  in- 
dulge children,  and  ceremoniously  careful  not  to  offend 
them.  He  was,  however,  full  of  indignation  against 
such  parents  as  delight  to  bring  their  young  ones  too 
early  into  the  talking  world,  and  was  known  to  give  a 
good  deal  of  pain  by  refusing  to  hear  the  verses  that  a 
child  could  recite.  This  was  the  case  on  one  occasion 
when  a  lady  brought  her  two  children  to  him.  Gray's 
Elegy  might  become  comic  in  the  mouths  of  little 
children ;  but  Johnson  would  not  have  Gray  any  more 
than  the  children  spoiled.  When  he  was  told  the 
children  would  recite  a  verse  alternately,  he  said; — 
"  No,  let  them  both  recite  at  once,  and  then  the  noise 
will  be  sooner  over." 


94  THE   CHILD. 


Why  fasten  mechanically  exotic  flowers,  however 
lovely,  on  the  slight  stems  of  a  young  and  tender 
plant  ? 

The  stimulus  of  injudicious  and  often  exaggerated 
praise  of  a  child  brought  forward  to  perform  some 
clever  feat,  endangers  humility  by  encouraging  pride. 

Still  more  ignoble  the  ambition  of  a  parent  to  en- 
hance the  natural  charms  of  childhood  by  dressing 
it  in  clothes  in  which  pride  again  is  often  fostered. 
Who  would  paint  the  lily  ?  "  Be  clothed  with 
humility." 

Still  more  serious  is  the  despoiling  a  child  of  its 
faith.  How  a  child's  trust  wins  the  heart !  And  yet 
an  unsuspecting  child  may  suffer  a  strange  revulsion  of 
feeling,  an  astonishment  of  dismay,  when  for  the  first 
time  it  is  aroused  from  its  sweet  restfulness  of  soul  by 
a  deceptive  word  or  action.  A  new  and  baneful  ex- 
perience this,  which  may  lead  to  the  most  disastrous 
consequences  in  character  and  life. 

A  brutal  soldier  may  with  a  firebrand  destroy  the 
most  gorgeous  temple ;  but  this  is  a  trifle  compared 
with  the  destruction  of  the  faith  of  a  little  child.  It 
were  better  for  the  offender  to  be  cast,  with  a  mill- 
stone round  his  neck,  into  the  midst  of  the  sea. 

Rob  a  child  of  his  faith — an  element  of  his  true 
nature — and  he  is  spoiled  indeed. 

Not  less  sad  and  disastrous  is  the  assault  on  a  child's 
heart.  This  is  the  citadel  of  the  affections.  Yet  it 
may  be  chilled  by  a  sinister  glance ;  shocked  by  a 
hasty  word  ;  broken  by  an  unjust  or  harsh  judgment. 


MEANS  OF  SPOLIATION.  95 

Better  err  a  thousand  times  on  the  side  of  over- 
appreciation,  or  even  of  praise,  than  w^ound  the  tender 
bhnd  affection  of  a  generous  Httle  soul. 

In  a  little  child  it  is  quite  possible  for  the  wine  of 
love  to  turn  to  the  vinegar  of  hate.  Nor  w^ould  the 
love  be  so  chargeable  w^ith  weakness  or  fickleness,  as 
the  unjust,  unkind  and  capricious  conduct  of  a  parent 
who  is  really  responsible  for  the  change.  The  hate 
may  be  truer  to  the  genuineness  of  the  heart's  best 
affection,  than  a  love  weak  and  indefinite,  which  can 
live  unperturbed  amid  the  discouragement  inflicted  by 
those  who  should  encourage  and  strengthen  it. 

Parental  love  may  be  profusely  demonstrative  and 
lavish  in  its  gifts,  but  it  may  altogether  fail  of  its  best 
fruits.  Its  capriciousness  may  wound  the  heart ;  its 
unwise  gifts  may  foster  selfishness.  And  here  one 
detects  the  busy  hand  of  spoliation. 

The  heart  does  not  live  on  toys  and  luxuries,  but  in 
the  admired  and  trusted  affection  of  the  parent. 

In  this  chapter  facts  have  been  adduced  which  re- 
veal the  child  in  the  least  favourable  light.  Apart  from 
any  preconceived  theory  and  approaching  the  consider- 
ation of  childhood  in  the  spirit  of  honest  inquiry,  what 
would  be  the  fair  conclusion  suggested  ?  It  ought 
never  to  be  forgotten  that  an  infant  is  endowed  with 
faculties  which  from  the  earliest  period  are  more  sen- 
sitive to  impressions,  more  delicately  responsive  to  the 
touch,  than  at  any  subsequent  stages  of  its  existence. 

Now  when  we  speak  of  the  seamy  side  of  childhood, 


96  THE   CHILD. 


we  may  be  thinking  of  essential  attributes  as  necessarily 
including  a  bias  to  evil,  or  a  radically  evil  or  sinful 
nature.  This  is  not  the  sense  in  which  we  are  using 
the  words. 

Hereditary  taints  of  evil  may  reveal  themselves  in 
some  little  individual  specimen  of  humanity,  just  as 
hereditary  mental  and  moral  excellencies  may  be  early 
manifested  in  another  specimen.  But  each  of  these 
may  be  special  varieties,  whilst  the  essential  attributes 
of  the  type  are  not  to  be  overlooked. 

But  beyond  and  apart  from  what  must  be  conceded 
to  the  modifying  power  of  heredity,  the  seamy  side  of 
childhood  will  be  found  to  be  largely  due  to  evil  train- 
ing, to,  the  persisting  and  corrupting  influence  of  bad 
example  and  to  the  unholy  thoughts  of  the  heart  and 
the  wicked  practices  of  the  hands. 

There  can  be  nothing  to  be  astonished  at  in  a  child 
who  has  been  allowed  to  develop  under  conditions 
which  are  favourable  only  to  that  which  is  evil ;  and 
in  reviewing  the  instances  of  a  naughty  childhood  we 
often  marvel  at  the  intuitions  of  a  love,  and  a  purity, 
and  a  generosity,  which  sometimes  discover  themselves 
in  a  young  life  that  seems  to  be  practically  lost. 

Such  cases  suggest  rather  an  inextinguishable,  or  at 
least  a  fading  light,  before  the  dark  clouds  of  vice  into 
which  the  young  life  is  forced,  than  a  being  who  brings 
with  it  from  its  birth  a  nature  which  can  only  be 
developed  along  the  lines  of  the  earthly,  sensual  and 
devilish.     The  seamy  side  of  the  child  is  not,  therefore. 


EVOLUTION  AND   HEREDITY,  97 

essential  to  the  child-nature  but  is  due  to  the  deplor- 
able conditions  under  which  the  child  is  developed ; 
and  if  instances  are  carefully  studied  the  evil  may  be 
easily  traced  to  the  viciousness  of  the  atmosphere 
which  the  child  has  been  unable  to  escape. 


Evolution  and  heredity. 

"The  most  beautiful  witness  to  the  evolution  of 
man  is  the  mind  of  a  little  child,"  says  Henry 
Drummond ;  "  evolution,  after  all,  is  the  study  of  the 
nursery." 

Just  as  the  dissecting  room  affords  the  most  ample 
opportunity  for  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  anatomy 
of  the  human  body,  the  nursery  supplies  the  largest 
facilities  for  the  collection  of  facts  which  illustrate  the 
functions  and  development  of  the  human  mind. 

In  the  child  we  have  before  us  a  clue  to  the  history 
of  mankind  from  the  most  primitive  times.  The  first 
year  of  a  child's  life  may  represent  the  full-grown 
prehistoric  man.  The  gradual  development  of  the 
infant  mind,  year  by  year,  supplies  an  epitome  of  the 
growth  of  the  race.  This  is  no  mere  conjecture. 
There  are  still  races  existing  on  the  earth's  surface 
whose  mental  status  and  attainments  are  about  on  a 
level  with  those  of  a  baby.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the 
progress  of  these  races  has  been  arrested,  for  it  has 
scarcely  yet  begun.  The  field  of  observation  includes 
the   lowest  type  of  primeval  men  and  all  the  inter- 

H 


98  THE   CHILD. 


mediate  stages  of  ancient  and  modern  civilization,  up 
to  the  highest  style  of  spiritual  development  that  man 
has  reached  under  the  influence  of  the  purest  religion 
in  the  present  day.  The  whole  process  is  shadowed 
forth  in  a  porcelain  factory,  where  you  behold  at  one 
inspection  the  china  clay  and  the  various  processes 
through  which  it  passes  in  the  manufacture  to  the 
finished  vase. 

But  more  than  this.  Not  only  can  the  earliest 
stages  of  mental  evolution  be  studied  in  living  speci- 
mens on  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  not  only  is  the  nursery 
a  microcosm  in  which  the  various  phases  of  mental 
evolution  are  traceable,  but  according  to  Romanes,  the 
nursery  also  discloses  the  order  in  which  the  faculties 
of  the  mind  are  developed. 

In  Romanes'  books  on  Animal  Intelligence  and  on 
Mental  Evolution  in  Animals,  he  gives  us  the  results 
of  his  observations  on  animals.  Taking  the  emotions, 
as  one  set  of  phenomena,  to  which  he  devoted  special 
attention,  with  the  view  of  detecting  the  order  of  their 
development  in  various  stages  of  animal  life,  he  came 
to  the  following  conclusions : — 


Fear. 

Sympathy. 

Benevolence. 

Surprise. 

Emulation. 

Revenge. 

Affection. 

Pride. 

Rage. 

Pugnacity. 

Resentment. 

Shame. 

Curiosity. 

Emotion  of  the  beautiful. 

Regret. 

Jealousy. 

Grief. 

Deceit. 

Anger. 

Hate. 

Emotion  of  the 

Play. 

Cruelty. 

ludicrous. 

EVOLUTION  AND  HEREDITY,  99 


Let  parents  observe  their  offspring  with  regard  not 
only  to  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  these  feelings  but 
with  reference  to  their  earliest  manifestations,  and 
they  may  find  confirmation  of  the  conclusions  at  which 
Romanes  arrived. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  the  scope  of  this  Essay  to  fol- 
low Romanes  through  his  argument,  though  it  is  full 
of  deep  interest. 

There  is  yet  another  doctrine  of  more  immediate 
importance  as  bearing  on  the  nature  of  the  child,  and 
that  is  the  doctrine  of  heredity. 

Evolution  and  heredity  are  not  by  any  means 
opposed  to  one  another.  In  connection  with  evolu- 
tion we  are  supplied  with  the  general  principles  of 
reproduction.  By  heredity  we  learn  the  differentiation 
which  results  from  special  influences,  such  as  educa- 
tion, occupation,  disease,  &c. 

Evolution  illustrates  the  progress  of  the  species. 
Heredity  explains  the  specific  variations  of  type. 
Heredity  is  an  universally  admitted  principle,  which 
accounts  for  family  and  national  idiosyncrasies. 

Orthodox  theology  has  fastened  itself  on  the  law  of 
heredity  greatly  to  the  disparagement  of  the  little 
child,  and  to  the  discouragement  of  those  who  have 
the  charge  of  its  training. 

Evolution  encourages  hope  as  it  postulates  man's 
gradual  ascent  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  range  of  being, 
and  anticipates  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  spirit  over 
the  flesh. 

H  2 


100  THE   CHILD. 


The  theology  which  condemns  (we  cannot  say  wel- 
comes) a  little  stranger  into  our  home  as  the  miserable 
outcome  of  an  awful  catastrophe,  called  "  the  Fall," 
logically  though  cruelly  fastens  upon  the  race  the 
radical  taint  of  depravity,  and  would  clothe  us  in 
the  garments  of  mourning  and  despair. 

Heredity  explains  the  transmitted  virtuous  ten- 
dencies of  the  good,  no  less  than  the  transmitted 
vicious  tendencies  of  the  bad.  But  evolution,  holding 
on  its  upward  way,  is  ever  on  the  side  of  hope  and 
improvement. 

The  pessimist  would  not  admire  this  rose-coloured 
picture  of  development,  and  he  would,  doubtless, 
adduce  facts  less  favourable  to  the  progressive  than 
to  the  retrogressive  theory.  What  has  he  to  say? 
He  would  point  to  the  birds  or  fishes,  whose  forms 
have  undergone  modification  by  altered  conditions ; 
whose  sight  has  been  lost  by  withdrawal  from  light ; 
and  other  instances  of  disused  faculty  resulting  in  its 
ultimate  extinction.  Much  might  be  brought  forward 
of  the  effect  of  disused  or  of  unused  faculties,  of  mind 
as  well  as  of  body.  The  process  is  illustrated  by  familiar 
examples,  physical,  mental  and  moral,  under  the  modi- 
fying influence  of  circumstances.  Weismann  points 
out  many  causes  and  conditions  of  retrogressive  deve- 
lopment in  nature ;  but  allowing  for  these  remarkable 
instances  of  retrogression,  the  outcome  of  evolution  is 
generally  favourable  to  progress  and  improvements, 
and  opposed  to  degeneration. 


EVOLUTION  AND  HEREDITY.  101 

Three  distinct  stages  are  noticeable  facts  in  the  pro- 
gress from  inorganic  matter  and  motion  up  to  the 
highest  and  most  complex  existence — man.  i.  The 
change  from  inorganic  to  organic  matter.  2.  The 
further  development  from  organic  matter  to  sentient 
consciousness ;  constituting  the  distinction  between 
the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms.  3.  The  exist- 
ence in  man  of  a  number  of  his  noblest  faculties,  and 
most  remarkable  characteristics,  pointing  to  a  universe 
of  Spirit,  to  which  the  world  of  matter  is  altogether 
subordinate. 

The  environment  of  a  child  explains  and  illustrates 
the  laws  of  its  development.  It  is  particularly  interest- 
ing to  observe  the  order  in  which  the  evolution  from 
the  lower,  that  is  the  sensuous,  to  the  higher  intellec- 
tual faculties  takes  place.  This  may  be  considered  in 
the  following  order  :  i.  The  musical.  2.  The  artistic. 
3.  The  metaphysical  or  abstract.  4.  The  mathema- 
tical ;  and  as  some  add,  5.  Wit  and  humour. 

Of  the  higher  faculties,  we  put  musical  impressions 
and  expressions  earliest,  because  we  perceive  that  the 
senses  have  a  part  to  play  in  the  perception  and 
development  of  musical  ideas.  The  consciousness  of 
sound,  with  elevation  and  depression  of  pitch  in  its 
sequence  of  tones,  and  early  acquirement  of  acquaint- 
ance with  that  succession  and  relation  of  notes  which 
form  a  tune  and  rhythm. 

So  with  regard  to  the  artistic  faculty.  The  intelli- 
gence  readily  combines  its  subjective   idea   with   the 


102  THE   CHILD. 


report  of  the  sense  of  sight,  and  pictures  become  a 
means  of  "the  higher  education." 

It  has  often  been  noticed  how  inadequate  are  the 
powers  of  the  untutored  savage  to  manage  the  simplest 
mathematical  process — numeration— and  how  quickly 
he  finds  himself  out  of  his  depth  ! 

Wit  and  humour  are  the  outcome  of  an  appreciation 
of  plain  facts,  touched  by  poetic  imagination,  or  at 
least  by  a  sense  of  fitness  of  harmony  or  contrast  of 
ideas,  giving  rise  to  more  or  less  ludicrous  observations. 

The  spiritual,  the  supreme  part  of  man's  nature,  as 
it  is  almost  undefinable,  is  hardly  to  be  reckoned  as  one 
of  the  series  of  mental  phenomena,  more  than  it  is  to 
be  regarded  as  a  sensuous  or  emotional  state.  It  is 
cognizable  through  the  emotions,  as  well  as  through 
the  intellect,  it  melts  in  tears,  or  it  may  harden  in 
mental  states.  At  first  it  is  a  mere  possibility,  but  at 
a  very  early  period  it  w411  develop  into  activity  by  a 
breath  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  Fuller  discussion  of  this 
is  reserved  for  a  future  chapter. 


\ 


THE    CHILD   OF  HEATHENDOM.  103 


CHAPTER  IV. 
th£  child  of  heathendom. 

Having  at  some  length  discussed  the  characteristics  of 
childhood  in  numerous  instances,  to  which  an  ob- 
servant reader  might  add  to  almost  any  extent,  it  will 
be  worth  while  to  notice  the  place  the  child  has 
occupied  in  some  of  the  ancient  civilizations,  and  also 
to  observe  the  influence  of  the  civilization  and  religions 
of  various  countries  upon  children. 

It  might  be  expected  that  an  advanced  civilization 
would  be  favourable  to  the  well-being  of  the  child,  and 
that  the  children  of  barbarous  peoples  would  be  placed 
at  a  great  disadvantage,  but  it  is  not  always  so,  as  will 
be  seen  further  on. 

Neither  is  religion  any  guarantee  of  the  child's  pro- 
tection and  happiness.  With  some  "the  sacred  rites 
of  religion"  have  included  the  sacrifice  of  innocent 
children,  who  have  had  a  back-handed  compliment 
paid  to  them  by  those  who  have  offered  "  the  fruit  of 
the  body  for  the  sin  of  the  soul." 

And  again,  the  heathen  have  often  put  to  shame, 
in  their  care  of  children,  the  boasted  superiority  of 
Christian  nations. 


104  THE   CHILD. 


THE  CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT. 

Following  Wilkinson,*  who  quotes  from  Plato,  we 
learn  that  "  in  the  education  of  youth  they  were  par- 
ticularly strict;  and  'they  knew,'  says  Plato,  *  that 
children  ought  to  be  early  accustomed  to  such  gestures, 
looks,  and  motions  as  are  decent  and  proper,  and  not 
be  suffered  to  either  hear  or  learn  any  verses  and  songs, 
than  those  which  are  calculated  to  inspire  them  with 
virtue ;  and  they  consequently  took  care  that  every 
dance  and  ode  introduced  at  their  feasts  or  sacrifices 
should  be  subject  to  certain  regulations.'  They  parti- 
cularly inculcated  respect  for  old  age ;  and  the  fact  of 
this  being  required  even  towards  strangers,  argues  a 
great  regard  for  the  person  of  a  parent ;  for  we  are 
informed  that,  like  the  Israelites  and  the  Lacedaemo- 
nians, they  required  every  young  man  to  give  place  to 
his  superiors  in  years,  and  even  if  seated  to  rise  on 
their  approach. 

"  Nor  were  these  honours  limited  to  their  life-time  : 
the  memory  of  parents  and  ancestors  was  revered 
through  succeeding  generations :  their  tombs  were 
maintained  with  the  greatest  respect ;  liturgies  were 
performed  by  the  children,  or  by  priests  at  their  ex- 
pense." 

If  Women  are  respected  we  may  he  pretty  sure  that 
Children  will  he  well  treated  and  trained, 

*  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii.,  1854. 


THE   CHILDREN  OF  EGYPT.  105 

"  In  primitive  ages  the  duties  of  women  were  very 
different  from  those  of  later  and  more  civilised  periods, 
and  varied  of  course  according  to  the  habits  of  each 
people.  Among  pastoral  tribes  they  drew  water,  kept 
the  sheep,  and  superintended  the  herds  as  well  as  the 
flocks.  As  with  the  Arabs  of  the  present  day,  they 
prepared  both  the  furniture  and  the  woollen  stuffs  of 
which  the  tents  themselves  were  made,  ground  the 
corn,  and  performed  other  menial  offices.  They  were 
also  engaged,  as  in  ancient  Greece,  in  weaving,  spin- 
ning, needlework,  embroidery,  and  other  sedentary 
occupations  within  doors.  The  Egyptian  ladies  in 
like  manner  employed  much  of  their  time  with  the 
needle ;  and  the  sculptures  represent  many  females 
weaving  and  using  the  spindle.  But  they  were  not 
kept  in  the  same  secluded  manner  as  those  of  ancient 
Greece,  who,  besides  being  confined  to  certain  apart- 
ments in  the  house  most  remote  from  the  hall  of  en- 
trance, and  generally  in  the  uppermost  part  of  the 
building,  were  not  even  allowed  to  go  out  of  doors 
without  a  veil,  as  in  many  Oriental  countries  of  the 
present  day.  The  Egyptians  treated  their  women 
very  differently,  as  the  accounts  of  ancient  authors 
and  the  sculptures  sufficiently  prove.  At  some  of  the 
public  festivals  women  were  expected  to  attend — not 
alone,  like  the  Moslem  women  at  a  mosque,  but  in 
company  with  their  husbands  or  relations."* 

Such  was  the  position  to  which  woman  had  attained 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  224. 


106  THE  CHILD, 


in  Egypt,  and  the  honour  in  which  she  was  held,  that 
she  sometimes  became  the  supreme  ruler. 

We  get  a  glimpse  of  regard  for  childhood  among  the 
Egyptians  in  the  beautiful  story  of  Pharaoh's  daughter, 
in  connection  with  the  finding  of  Moses.  "  Take  this 
child  and  nurse  it  for  me,"  reveals  the  love  of  the 
mother  and  the  leadership  of  the  princess. 


ANCIENT   GREECE. 

We  cannot  give  a  better  idea  of  the  high  apprecia- 
tion of  childhood  by  the  best  minds  of  Greece  than 
by  quoting  Plato  as  translated  by  the  late  Professor 
Jowett.* 

"  Plato's  views  of  education  are  in  several  respects 
remarkable.  Like  the  rest  of  the  Republic,  they  are 
partly  Greek  and  partly  ideal,  beginning  with  the 
ordinary  curriculum  of  the  Greek  youth,  and  extend- 
ing to  after  life.  Plato  is  the  first  writer  who  distinctly 
expresses  the  thought  that  education  is  to  comprehend 
the  whole  of  life,  and  to  be  a  preparation  for  another 
in  which  education  is  to  begin  again.  This  is  the 
continuous  thread  which  runs  through  the  whole  of 
the  Republic,  and  which  more  than  any  other  of  his 
ideas  admits  of  an  application  to  modern  life."t 

^^  His   conception   of  education  is   represented ,  not  like 

*  Dialogues  of  Plato  translated  into  English.  The  Republic,  vol.  ii., 
1871. 

f  Introduction,  p.  152. 


ANCIENT  GREECE.  107 

many  modern  views,  under  the  image  of  filling  a  vessel, 
but  of  turning  the  eye  of  the  soul  towards  the  light,''*' 

"  The  principles  on  which  rehgion  is  to  be  based  are 
two  only ;  first,  that  God  is  true  ;  secondly,  that  He  is 
good.  Modern  and  Christian  writers  have  fallen  short 
of  these ;  they  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  got  beyond 
them."t 

"  But  the  honourable  mind  which  is  to  form  a 
healthy  judgment  ought  rather  to  have  had  no  experi- 
ence or  contamination  of  evil  habits  when  young.  And 
this  is  the  reason  why  in  youth  good  men  often  appear 
to  be  simple,  and  are  easily  practised  upon  by  the  evil, 
because  they  have  no  samples  of  evil  in  their  own 
souls."t 

The  education  of  the  children  is  under  discussion  : — 

"  You  know  that  the  beginning  is  the  chiefest  part 
of  any  work,  especially  in  a  young  and  tender  thing ; 
for  that  is  the  time  at  which  the  character  is  formed 
and  most  readily  receives  the  desired  impression. 

"  Quite  true. 

"  And  shall  we  just  carelessly  allow  children  to  hear 
any  casual  tales  which  may  be  framed  by  casual  per- 
sons, and  to  receive  into  their  minds  notions  which  are 
the  very  opposite  of  those  which  are  to  be  held  by 
them  when  they  are  grown  up  ? 

*'  We  cannot  allow  that. 

"  Then  the  first  thing  will  be  to  have  a  censorship 
of  the  writers  of  fiction,  and  let  the  censors  receive  any 

*  Ibid.,  p.  153.  f  Ibid.,  p.  154.  +  Ibid.,  p.  236. 


108  THE  CHILD, 


tale  of  fiction  which  is  good,  and  reject  the  bad  ;  and 
we  will  allow  the  mothers  and  nurses  to  tell  their  chil- 
dren the  authorized  ones  only At  the  same  time 

most  of  those  which  are  now  in  use  will  have  to  be 
discarded 

"  But  which  are  the  stories  that  you  mean,  he  said, 
and  what  fault  do  you  find  with  them  ? 

*'A  fault  which  is  most  serious,  I  said,  the  fault 
of  telling  a  lie,  and  a  bad  lie.''* 

And  then  he  goes  on  to  discuss  the  stories  which 
should  be  kept  from  children,  the  cruelties  of  the  gods, 
the  misrepresentation  of  the  state  of  the  dead,  as  one 
to  shrink  from. 

"  And  we  must  beg  Homer  and  other  poets  not  to 
be  angry  if  we  strike  out  these  and  similar  passages, 
not  because  they  are  unpoetical,  or  unattractive  to  the 
popular  ear,  but  because  the  greater  charm  of  them  as 
poetry,  the  less  are  they  meet  for  the  ears  of  boys  and 
men,  who  are  to  be  sons  of  freedom  and  are  to  fear 
slavery  more  than  death. 

"Also  we  shall  have  to  reject  all  the  terrible  and 
appalling  names  which  describe  the  world  below — 
Cocytus  and  Styx,  ghosts  under  the  earth,  and  sapless 
shades,  and  any  other  words  of  the  same  type,  the  very 
mention  of  which  causes  a  shudder  to  pass  through  the 
inmost  soul  of  him  who  hears  them.  I  do  not  say  that 
these  tales  may  not  have  a  use  of  some  kind,  but  there 
is  a  danger  that  the  nerves  of  our  guardians  may  become 
affected  by  them.'^f 

*  Ibid.,  Book  II.,  p.  201.  f  Ibid.,  Book  III.,  p.  210, 


ANCIENT  GREECE.  109 

The  following  is  mainly  from  Plato  : — * 

"  The  first  year  is  the  beginning  of  the  whole  life  to 
everyone ;  which  ought  to  be  written  in  the  temples  of 
their  fathers,  as  the  beginning  of  life,  both  to  a  boy 
and  girl." 

In  discussing  the  treatment  of  the  child,  even  in 
embryo,  and  its  physical  treatment  after  birth,  the  fol- 
lowing occurs : — 

"  All  bodies  are  benefited  by  shakings  and  motion, 
when  moved  without  weariness,  of  all  that  are  moved 
by  themselves,  or  by  swings,  or  carried  on  the  sea,  or 
on  horseback,  or  borne  along  in  any  manner  soever  by 
other  bodies,  and  through  these  getting  the  mastery 
over  food  and  drink,  they  are  able  to  impart  to  us  health, 
and  beauty,  and  the  rest  of  strength,'' \ 

**  Since  then  such  is  the  case,  what  shall  we  say  that 
we  ought  to  do  after  this  ?  Are  you  willing  for  us  to 
say  with  a  laugh,  that  we  are  laying  down  laws  for  the 
pregnant  woman  to  walk  about,  and  to  mould  the  infant 
as  a  thing  of  wax,  while  it  is  yet  flexible,  and  to  put  it  in 
swathing  clothes  until  it  is  two  years  old  ;  and  that  we 
are  moreover  compelling  the  nurses  by  legal  fines  to 
carry  the  children  either  into  the  fields,  or  to  the 
temples,  or  their  acquaintance,  until  they  are  suffi- 
ciently able  to  stand  alone ;  and  then  that  they  should 
be  careful,  lest  by  the  limbs  becoming  distorted,  while 
forcibly  resting  on  them,  being  still  young,  to  undergo 

*  The  Laws,  translated  by  Surges.     Book  VI.,  Chap,  xxiii.,  p.  248. 
t  Book  VII.,  p.  251. 

universitt! 


110  THE   CHILD. 


the  additional  labour  of  carrying  the  infant,  until  it 
had  completed  its  third  year ;  and  that  the  nurses 
ought  to  be  as  strong  as  possible  ;  and,  in  addition, 
that  unless  these  things  take  place  to  each  child,  we 
are  to  enact  a  fine  upon  those  who  do  not  so  act  ? 
or  is  this  far  from  being  the  case  ?  For  that,  which  has 
just  now  been  mentioned,  would  happen  to  us  without 
stint. 

"  Clin.  What  is  that  ? 

"  A  then.  To  pay  the  debt  of  abundant  laughter, 
through  the  womanlike  and  servile  manners  of  the 
nurses  being  unwilling  to  obey  us."* 

'' Athen.  Let  us  then  receive  this  as  an  element 
with  respect  to  both  the  circumstances,  (the  body 
and  soul,)  of  the  very  young,  that  the  nursing  and 
motion,  taking  place  as  much  as  possible  all  the  night 
and  day,  are  profitable  to  all,  and  not  the  least  to  the 
youngest ;  so  that,  if  it  were  possible,  they  may  live  as 
if  always  sailing  on  the  sea.  But  now,  (since  this  is 
impossible),  it  is  requisite  to  act  as  near  as  possible 
to  this  with  respect  to  the   newly  born  nurslings  of 

children When  mothers  are  desirous  to  put 

to  sleep  their  children,  who  sleep  with  difficulty,  they 
do  not  bring  them  to  a  state  of  quietness,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  of  motion,  by  shaking  them  ever  in  their 
arms  ;  nor  yet  that  of  silence,  but  that  of  singing  to 
them  ;  and  they  artlessly  soothe  their  children,  as  it 
were,  by  the  sound  of  a  pipe,  and,  as  the  remedies  of 

*  Ibid.,  Book  VII.,  Chap,  ii.,  p.  252. 


ANCIENT  GREECE.  Ill 


the  mad  Bacchants  are  employed,  by  making  use,  at  l^e 
same  time,  of  the  movements  in  music  and  the  dance. 

**  Clin,  What  then,  O  guest,  is  especially  the  cause 
of  this  ? 

*'  Athen.  It  is  not  very  difficult  to  know. 

"  Clin.  How  so  ? 

*^ Athen,  Both  these  passions  result  from  fear;  and 
there  are  certain  terrors  through  a  depraved  habit 
of  soul.  When  therefore  any  one  brings  from  without 
an  agitation  to  passions  of  this  kind,  that  which  is 
from  without  overcomes  the  dreadful  and  insane 
motion  within ;  and  after  overcoming,  it  seems  to 
have  produced  a  calm  in  the  soul,  and  a  quietness 
in  the  leaping,  which  had  been  troublesome  as  regards 
the  heart  of  each ;  (and)  thus,  (what  is)  altogether  agree- 
able, it  causes  some  to  obtain  by  lot*  sleep ;  but  others, 
who  are  awake,  and  dancing  and  soothed  by  the  pipe 
under  the  influence  of  the  divinities,  (or  as  we  say,  '  by 
the  blessing  of  God '),  to  whom  each  may  be  supplicat- 
ing and  sacrificing,  it  causes  to  possess  habits  of  sound 
sense  in  the  place  of  a  maddened  state.  Now  this,  to 
speak  in  brief,  has  in  this  way  a  certain  probable 
reason."! 

After  alluding  to  timidity  and  fortitude,  moroseness 
and  courage : — 

"  A  then.  In  what  manner  then  is  to  be  implanted 
Avhich  of  these  we  may  wish  in  the  newly  born  ?     We 

*  The  text  is  somewhat  confused,  Burges  says, 
f  Ibid.,  p.  254. 


112  THE   CHILD. 


must  endeavour  to  state  how  and  to  what  extent  a 
person  may  have  an  easy  road  in  these  matters. 

'*  Clin.  How  not  ? 

^^  Athen.  I  will  mention  then  the  fixed  opinion  with  us, 
that  luxury  renders  the  manners  of  youth  morose  and  iras- 
cible, and  vehemently  agitated  by  things  of  a  trifling 
nature;  but  that  an  excessive  and  rustic  servitude 
causes  them  to  be  contrary  to  this,  abject  and  ilHberal, 
and  man-haters,  and  unfitting  associates. 

"  Clin.  But  how  will  the  whole  state  be  able  to 
bring  up  those,  who  have  as  yet  no  perception  of  lan- 
guage, and  are  unable  to  have  any  taste  for  the  rest  of 
instruction  ? 

"  A  then.  Somehow  in  this  way.  Every  animal,  as 
soon  as  it  is  born,  is  wont  to  utter  some  sound  with  a 
loud  cry,  and  not  the  least  the  human  species  ;  and 
more  than  the  rest  of  animals  it  is  affected  in  addition 
to  its  crying  with  the  shedding  of  tears. 

"  Clin.  Entirely  so. 

'* Athen.  Now  nurses,  looking  to  what  infants  are 
desirous  of,  make  a  conjecture  by  their  presenting  to 
them  something.  For  they  think  they  correctly  offer 
that,  on  which  being  presented  the  children  are  silent ; 
but  incorrectly  that,  at  which  it  sheds  tears  or  cries 
out.  For  in  the  case  of  children  tears  and  cries  are 
the  indications  of  what  they  love  and  hate,  (and  are) 
signs  by  no  means  lucky.  Now  this  period  is  not  less 
than  three  years,  a  not  small  portion  of  life  to  pass 
through  badly  or  not  badly."* 

*  Ibid.,  p.  255. 


ANCIENT  GREECE.  118 

Then  the  conversation  goes  on,  indicating  that 
neither  the  pursuit  of  pleasure,  nor  the  entire  avoid- 
ance of  pain  should  be  attempted. 

"  Nor  let  him  permit  any  other  person,  old  or  young, 
male  or  female,  to  suffer  the  same  thing  with  us,  and, 
as  far  as  he  is  able,  the  newly-born  the  least  of  all.  For 
all  the  manners  are,  through  custom,  implanted  in  all  the 
most  powerfully  at  that  period.  And  further  still,  if  I 
were  not  about  to  appear  to  be  jesting,  I  would  say,  that 
one  ought  to  attend  to  women,  who  are  carrying  any- 
thing in  the  womb,  the  most  of  all  during  that  very 
year,  so  that  the  person  pregnant  may  neither  enjoy 
pleasures  numerous  and  violent,  nor,  on  the  other 
hand,  feel  pains,  but  live  through  that  period,  pre- 
serving a  line  of  conduct  benignant,  and  good-tempered, 
and  mild."* 

*' Athen. :  If  then  in  the  case  of  a  boy  and  girl  of 
three  years  old,  any  one  should  bring  these  matters  ac- 
curately to  an  end,  and  make  use  of  what  has  been  said 
in  not  a  careless  manner,  they  will  be  of  no  small 
advantage  to  those  recently  brought  up.  But  there 
will  be  a  need  of  sports  for  the  habits  of  the  soul  at 
three,  and  four,  and  five,  and  even  six  years  of  age. 
But  we  must  already  remove  them  from  luxury,  by 
chastising  them,  not  in  an  ignominious  manner,  but,  as 
we  said  on  the  subject  of  slaves,  by  chastising  not  with 
insults  so  as  to  encourage  an  angry  feeling  in  them, 
when  so  chastised,  nor  a  feeling  for  licentiousness  by 

*  Ibid.f  pp.  256-7. 

I 


114  THE   CHILD. 


suffering  them  to  go  unpunished,  we  must  do  the  same 
in  the  case  of  the  free-born.  Now  the  sports  of  per- 
sons of  that  age  are  self-produced ;  and  which,  when 
they  come  together,  they  almost  invent  themselves.  .  .  . 
After  six  years  of  age  let  each  sex  be  separated."* 

Burges,  in  a  note,  says  that  whatever  may  have 
been  the  case  with  Greece  in  the  time  of  Plato,  in 
other  countries  and  more  recent  periods  the  sports  of 
children,  so  far  from  being  invented  by  themselves, 
have  been  handed  down  from  age  to  age ;  and  as  Paley 
remarked,  while  empires  have  flourished  and  decayed, 
the  sports  of  children  have  remained  unchanged  by 
time ;  for  they  still  ride  on  sticks,  and  play  at  odd  and 
even,  as  Horace  tells  us  they  did  in  his  day;  and  make 
horses  and  carts  out  of  orange  peel,  as  Aristophanes 
states  they  did  more  than  2000  years  ago. 

Then  the  discourse  flows  on  upon  education.  The 
appropriation  of  so  large  a  space  in  Plato's  graphic 
description  of  childhood  in  his  day — to  the  discussion 
of  errors  to  be  avoided,  and  the  methods  to  be  adopted 
for  a  judicious  development  of  the  young,  cannot  fail 
to  impress  any  one  who  studies  the  subject  at  all. 


ROMAN    CHILDREN. 

Like  the  Greeks,  the  Romans  regarded  childhood 
mainly  as  a  necessary  preliminary  introduction  to  a 
manhood,    in    which    the    orator,   the   legislator,   the 

*  Ibid,,  pp.  258-g. 


ROMAN  CHILDREN.  115 

warrior,  should  live  to  make  his  mark  on  his  age,  and 
possibly  fill  a  brilliant  page  in  the  history  of  the 
Roman  empire. 

If  the  Greeks  developed  the  man  of  intellectual  cul- 
ture— the  logician,  the  poet,  the  lover  of  pleasure,  the 
artist  of  purest  ideal  in  physical  beauty  and  of  power- 
ful and  varied  emotion — the  Roman  training  produced 
men  of  practical  energy — men  who  gloried  in  oratory, 
and  above  all,  men  who  would  lead  armies  to  victory, 
men  who  could  make  roads  all  over  the  empire  and 
found  lasting  settlements. 

We  know  something  of  the  "stuff"  out  of  which 
men  are  formed,  but  we  have  very  little  definite  know- 
ledge of  the  mode  by  which  that  stuff  was  shaped. 

The  mother's  influence  over  the  child  was  great. 
She  was  the  worthy  companion  of  her  husband.  In 
early  times  the  children  sat  at  table  with  their  parents, 
and  would  listen,  in  respectful  silence,  to  the  conversa- 
tion on  the  services  their  father  had  rendered  to  the 
State.  They  were  allowed  to  accompany  their  fathers 
to  the  senate,  and  learned  to  be  quiet,  or  to  speak  at 
the  proper  time.  The  rod  was  almost  too  well  known 
to  the  children.  At  least  so  thought  Horace,  the  pupil 
of  Orbilius  Pupillus,  who  immortalized  his  cross- 
grained  master  in  his  verse. 

At  the  age  of  seven  the  child  was  handed  over  to  the 
grammatistes,  or  literator,  to  acquire  the  art  of  reading 
and  writing. 

The  wisdom  and  tenderness  of  Quintilian  are  notice- 

I  2 


116  THE   CHILD. 


able  in  his  sympathy  with  children,  as  it  comes  out  in 
his  observations  on  the  teachableness  of  youth  in  gene- 
ral. He  remarks,  farther,  that  if  the  promise  of  youth 
often  remains  unfulfilled,  it  is  due  rather  to  defective 
education,  than  to  the  want  of  ability  in  the  child. 

Quintilian  would  have  the  education  begun  at  the 
very  earliest  age,  and  always  in  a  hopeful  spirit.  Espe- 
cially does  he  urge  the  greatest  care  in  the  selection  of 
a  nurse ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  paedagogus  to  correct 
the  faults  of  the  nurse.  Learning  must  be  felt  to  be  a 
pleasure  and  not  a  burden.  If  the  child  discover  no 
aptitude  for  one  kind  of  study,  let  him  try  another. 

We  get  a  glimpse  of  a  Roman  home  from  the  writ- 
ings of  Cicero,  when  he  alludes  to  little  Tullia  getting 
clamorous  for  the  promised  doll  which,  it  appears, 
Atticus  forgot  that  he  was  to  give  her.  Thus  affording 
us  a  touch  of  nature  that  makes  the  whole  (child) 
world  kin  ! 


THE   CHILDREN   OF   INDIA. 

A  book  with  this  title  gives  sufficient  illustration  for 
our  purpose,  of  the  manner  of  dealing  with  children  in 
India.  The  inferior  position  of  woman  explains  the 
difference  in  the  regard  for  girls  as  compared  with 
boys.  The  girls  are  nothing,  the  boys  are  everything. 
You  may  hear  a  Hindu  talk  about  children  and  girls  : 
as  though  girls  were  not  children  at  all,  but  something 
not  nearly  so  good.     If  you  were  to  ask  a  father  how 


THE  CHILDREN  OF  INDIA.  117 

many  children  he  had,  you  would  generally  be  told  the 
number  of  boys  only,  for  they  say  "  girls  don't  count." 

On  the  birth  of  a  little  girl  the  Hindus  conclude  that 
the  gods  must  have  been  very  angry,  as  the  explana- 
tion of  their  withholding  a  boy. 

When  a  boy  is  born,  festivities,  rejoicings  and  pre- 
sents mark  the  event :  on  the  birth  of  a  girl  there 
is  no  bell-ringing,  there  are  no  presents,  no  messengers 
of  good  news. 

A  Hindu  gentleman  has  said  that — **  Honour  thy 
father  and  thy  mother  "  is  the  first  commandment  to 
the  Hindus. 

The  children  are  taught  that  the  gods  hate  them, 
and  that  they  may  hate  their  gods. 

Until  five  or  six  years  old  the  boys  and  girls  live 
together,  and  very  much  in  the  same  way. 

The  girls  have  no  lessons  to  learn ;  the  mothers  can- 
not teach  them.  Until  very  recently,  it  was  thought 
absurd  to  try  to  teach  girls  or  women  to  read.  The 
girls  have  no  occupation,  no  reading,  no  pictures,  no 
needlework.  The  men  and  boys  do  that.  They  spend 
much  time  in  doing  their  mother's  hair,  for  Hindu 
ladies  think  a  great  deal  of  their  hair,  and  like  to  show 
plenty  of  it.  They  enjoy  listening  to  stories.  They 
learn  to  cook.  The  one  thing  they  are  taught  to  hope 
and  pray  for  is  a  nice  husband.  The  girl  must  be 
married  before  she  is  ten  years  old.  The  boys  stay  at 
home  after  marriage — not  the  girls,  whose  mothers-in- 
law  are  often  a  terror  to  them. 


118  .  THE  CHILD. 


In  the  zenanas  they  talk  about  their  jewels  to  their 
visitors,  but  never  about  their  husbands. 


THE   CHILDREN   OF   PERSIA. 

The  following  sketch  is  mainly  compiled  from  two 
original  sources,  one  from  the  pen  of  a  Nestorian 
Christian  lady  who  is  living  and  working  with  her 
husband  in  the  education  of  the  children  of  Persia  ; 
the  other  from  a  Kurd,  whose  father  was  a  Kurdish 
Molla  (Mohammedan  priest),  and  who  since  his  conver- 
sion to  Christianity  has  suffered  much  in  maintaining 
his  Christian  faith. 

Suppose  we  enter  a  house  in  a  Persian  town  in 
which  has  just  arrived  a  new  baby.  Boys  and  girls  in 
our  English  homes  are  alike  welcome.  But  here  a 
marked  difference  is  observable  between  the  reception 
of  a  boy  and  a  girl.  If  a  boy,  every  face  beams  with 
delight.  For  days  the  members  of  the  family  circle 
and  neighbours  keep  holiday  and  indulge  in  festivities, 
mid  the  strains  of  musicians.  When  the  musicians 
learn  that  a  girl  is  born,  they  go  away  disappointed. 
Friends  bring  presents.  And  the  individual  who  carries 
the  good  news  that  a  son  is  born,  to  the  father,  re- 
ceives a  handsome  gift.  How  different  in  the  case  of 
a  daughter !  Every  face  is  clouded.  Curses  rest  upon 
her  inoffensive  head  from  the  hour  of  her  birth. 

Motherhood  brings  with  it  a  love  for  the  child,  a 
characteristic,  says  our  Kurdish  friend,  that  distin- 
guishes the  Persian  women. 


THE   CHILDREN  OF  PERSIA.  119 

It  is  the  natural  affection  only  of  a  father  which 
provides  for  the  needs  of  his  girl,  otherwise  fathers 
are  sure  that  what  they  spend  on  a  girl  is  lost.  For 
example, — one  of  their  great  kings  Shah  Abbas  once 
asked  a  gardener  how  much  he  earned  a  day.  He 
answered  tenpence.  The  Shah  enquired  how  he  spent 
that.  He  replied,  he  owed  a  man  twopence  a  day, 
and  lent  twopence  to  another  ;  he  threw  twopence  into 
the  sea,  and  spent  the  remaining  fourpence  on  himself 
and  his  wife. 

Shah  Abbas  told  him  he  could  understand  giving 
twopence  back  to  the  man  to  whom  he  owed  it,  but 
why  he  lent  money  while  he  was  in  debt,  and  why  he 
should  be  so  foolish  as  to  throw  away  money  he  could 
not  understand.  The  man  said  that  he  meant  the 
twopence  he  paid  back  was  spent  on  his  father,  who 
was  old  and  unable  to  work ;  and  the  twopence  which 
he  lent  was  spent  on  his  son,  whom  he  expected 
when  he  grew  up  would  help  him  as  he  had  helped  his 
father ;  and  the  twopence  he  threw  into  the  sea  he 
spent  on  his  daughters,  thus  showing  that  girls  are 
considered  of  no  account. 

When  a  poor  little  baby  is  born  it  is  wrapped, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  in  swaddling 
bands,  and  a  little  cap  is  placed  on  its  head,  which  is" 
bound  round  very  tightly  with  a  handkerchief.  On  the 
day  of  its  birth  seven  onions  are  put  on  an  iron  rod, 
and  each  day  one  of  these  is  thrown  away  until  the 
child   is   seven   days  old,    and   round   the  bed  of  the 


120  THE  CHILD, 


mother  and  child,  which  is  on  the  floor,  are  placed 
swords  and  guns  in  order  that  "All"  (evil  spirits) 
which  are  supposed  to  be  the  enemies  of  the  mother 
and  child,  should  not  come  near  and  kill  them ;  and 
till  the  seventh  night  the  lamps  are  never  put  out 
during  the  night.  Children  in  Persia  are  never  bathed 
till  they  are  one  year  old. 

When  a  child  is  about  a  month  old,  after  the  Astron- 
omers or  the  Koran  have  been  consulted,  and  a  lucky 
hour  has  been  selected,  they  put  it  in  a  cradle,  and 
bind  its  legs  and  arms  tightly  down  with  bandages  to 
the  cradle,  which  is  something  like  a  shallow  box  on 
two  rockers.  The  box  is  fitted  with  cushions  so  that 
the  child's  body  is  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  box. 
A  bandage  is  tied  over  its  eyes  so  that  the  poor  little 
thing  is  obliged  to  be  quite  motionless,  with  aching 
back,  it  cries  and  cries,  until  the  mother  finishes  her 
work  or  returns  from  her  bath. 

As  a  rule  the  mothers  nurse  their  own  children. 
They  carry  the  babe  strapped  to  the  back  while  about 
their  daily  duties.  And  here,  as  everywhere  else,  the 
children  reflect  the  disposition,  character,  and  apti- 
tudes of  the  parent. 

The  little  Persian  babes  are  left  entirely  to  their  own 
resources.  They  are  not  indulged  with  toys,  or  games. 
Nothing  is  done  to  amuse  them.  The  only  occupation 
left  to  interest  them  is  eating.     This  is  their  only  joy. 

As  they  grow  up,  however,  little  boys,  will  often 
amuse    themselves.      They   talk    about    their  father's 


THE   CHILDREN  OF  PERSIA.  121 

sheep,  and  seem  to  find  a  pleasure  in  alluding  to  "  my 
father's  buffalo  ;  my  father's  cow."  At  this  age  they 
will  gather  sticks,  and  build  huts,  and  act  the  shep- 
herd. They  soon  acquire  bad  habits,  and  quarrel  and 
fight  with  one  another.  Their  idea  of  God  becomes 
associated  with  swearing,  and  taking  God's  name  in 
vain  is  a  common  characteristic  of  the  children  of 
parents  who  know  not  and  care  not  for  God. 

The  games  of  little  girls  at  this  age  are  called  "  luck- 
looshy."  They  are  played  with  five  stones.  These  are 
collected  when  the  children  are  quite  small,  and  are 
treasured  up  till  they  can  use  the  stones  in  various 
ways,  as  children  do  knuckle-bones  in  England. 

There  are  no  shops  at  which  the  girls  can  buy  dolls. 
But  the  instinct  of  the  mother  prompts  the  little  one 
to  manufacture  its  own  baby  out  of  a  piece  of  stick 
and  some  rags.  They  also  find  great  amusement  in 
making  tiny  clay  vessels  ;  forming  an  oven,  and  baking 
their  own  cakes.  They  are  thus  busy  at  the  age  of 
five  or  six. 

At  this  tender  age,  the  children  of  cruel  mothers  are 
compelled  to  work  very  hard,  carrying  food  upon  their 
little  backs,  to  those  who  may  be  working  upon  the 
farm ;  sometimes  nursing  the  baby,  or  rocking  the 
cradle. 

A  little  girl  is  taught  to  swear  by  the  name  of  her 
brother.  They  are  expected  now  to  do  services  for 
their  father  and  brother.  At  seven  they  are  not  con- 
sidered too  young  to  do  the  work  of  a  woman. 


122  THE   CHILD. 


Brothers  are  always  up  in  the  morning  with  the  Hfe 
and  bustle  of  the  farm.  The  little  boys  sit  upon  the 
yoke  of  the  oxen.  Others  learn  to  be  masons  or 
carpenters,  beginning  at  a  very  early  age.  There  are 
very  few  schools  for  them  other  than  the  school  of 
practical  life. 

They  are  really  anxious  to  be  instructed,  for  they 
are  a  very  intelligent  race.  Religion  is  inherent  in 
their  nature.  Every  Mohammedan  believes  there  is  a 
God. 

Their  personal  ambition  leads  them  to  seek  and  to 
possess  a  good  name,  and  this  quality  manifests  itself 
at  the  age  of  six  or  seven.  Thus  they  give  great  hon- 
our to  pens,  ink,  and  paper,  and  look  upon  these  things 
as  holy. 

Where  a  few  schools  have  been  opened,  a  remark- 
able advance  is  perceptible.  As  yet  the  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  consider  it  quite  out  of  place  to  educate  a 
woman,  and  therefore  very  few  of  the  women  can  read 
at  all. 

At  the  age  of  seven  every  girl  begins  to  learn  to  sew 
and  do  fancy  work,  and  this  fills  up  most  of  her  time 
until  she  is  married. 

The  manners  of  the  Persians  are  noticeable.  Should 
a  stranger  come  into  the  house,  the  little  girl  must 
stand  all  the  time.  She  prepares  the  visitors'  pipes  ; 
in  winter  weather  she  has  to  remove  their  outdoor 
garments,  and  carry  water  for  their  ablutions.  In  fact, 
the  Persian  girl  is  a  girl  no  more  after  she  is  eight  or 


THE  CHILDREN  OF  PERSIA.  123 

nine  years  of  age.  In  the  evening  she  must  always  be 
busy  at  her  distaff  and  spindle,  affording  nineteenth 
century  illustrations  of  the  pre-Christian  era  when 
Solomon  commended  the  virtuous  women,  or  the  still 
earlier  time  when  the  cloth  was  being  spun  for  the 
Tabernacle. 

A  mother  kisses  her  son,  but  she  rarely  kisses  her 
daughter.  She  does  not  think  that  her  girl  has  a 
heart.  The  sister  is  trained  to  lavish  her  attentions 
on  her  brother;  the  love  is  not  reciprocated.  The 
best  of  everything  is  reserved  for  the  boys  and  men. 

Where  the  Gospel  has  been  proclaimed  and  received, 
all  this  is  changed.  The  home  life  is  moulded  in  love 
and  unity.  The  contrast  between  such  a  home  and 
the  home  of  a  mother  who  has  actually  been  seen  to 
crush  her  little  girl  under  her  very  feet,  must  be  strange 
indeed. 

The  people  are  steeped  in  superstition.  And  the 
poor  Persian  children  are  terrified  by  the  fearful  things 
they  learn.  They  are  taught  to  believe  in  genii  or 
demons,  and  there  is  a  chapter  devoted  to  these  genii  in 
the  Koran,  and  some  people  are  believed  to  influence 
them.  Parents  and  others  are  constantly  speaking 
about  genii  to  the  children,  and  think  they  are  every- 
where ;  they  teach  them  to  say  "  Bismellah  "  (in  the 
name  of  God)  in  order  that  the  genii  should  depart. 

Children  are  not  fed  regularly,  and  if  a  child  after  a 
late  supper  has  nightmare,  and  cries  out  in  the  night, 
they  say  the  genii  have  affected  him.     The  parents  run 


124  THE   CHILD, 


off  to  the  priest  for  a  prayer  (**  I  have  written  a  good 
many  of  these  prayers  myself,"  writes  my  friend,  "  hav- 
ing once  been  a  Mohammedan  priest  ")  to  drive  the 
genii  away. 

Persian  children  are  dressed  just  like  grown-up 
people,  there  are  no  dresses  specially  devised  for  chil- 
dren. Little  girls  are  covered  with  a  chader,  which 
is  a  black  silk  or  cotton  sheet.  A  white  veil  covers 
the  face,  it  has  tiny  pin-holes  over  the  eyes  and  nose. 
They  wear  besides  a  garment  which  is  like  loose 
trousers.  Boys  dress  like  their  fathers.  Children 
are  compelled  to  sit  and  act  like  grown-up  people.  If 
they  walk  or  run  about  a  room,  like  English  children, 
they  are  punished.  The  chader  and  veil  are  worn  only 
when  they  go  out. 

Among  the  nobility  men  and  women  are  employed 
to  teach  them  how  to  behave  like  grown-up  people. 
Boys  are  miniature  men,  and  girls  miniature  women. 
There  is  really  no  child-life  in  Persia.  But  few 
schools,  and  these,  unHke  our  own  where  all  is  done 
to  make  school-days  bright  and  happy,  are  dull  and 
uninteresting.  The  children  are  made  to  repeat  a 
sentence  over  and  over  again,  parrot  fashion,  some- 
thing like  this  : — "  Kaf  lam  push  kul  aooyo,"  and  they 
do  not  even  understand  the  meaning  of  the  words. 
They  must  read  the  whole  of  the  Koran,  114  chapters, 
in  this  parrot  fashion,  without  understanding  it,  before 
they  read  any  other  book.  This  tedious  reading  of  an 
unknown  tongue  takes  four  or  five  years. 


THE   CHILDREN   OF  PERSIA.  125 

In  winter  they  must  get  up  very  early  in  the  morn- 
ing. A  bag  of  charcoal  in  one  hand,  a  little  napkin 
containing  food  in  the  other,  they  (the  boys)  start  for 
school.  If  late  they  are  whipped.  Each  boy  has  a 
pot  (like  a  flower-pot)  in  which  he  puts  his  charcoal, 
and  puffs  and  puffs,  until  it  is  red-hot ;  then  places  a 
cushion  close  to  it,  on  which  he  sits,  his  Koran  on  his 
lap,  moving  his  body  backwards  and  forwards  all  the 
time  repeating  the  monotonous  words  of  the  Koran. 
The  schoolroom  is  a  small  one,  with  a  small  door,  and 
two  little  holes  in  the  walls  to  serve  for  windows ;  both 
door  and  holes  are  closed  in  winter,  so  there  is  no 
ventilation  whatever.  The  fumes  of  the  charcoal  and 
the  closeness  of  the  room,  where  so  many  children  are 
gathered,  causes  headache  and  makes  them  nervous 
and  feverish. 

They  have  no  recreation  hour  and  no  play,  and  often 
school  begins  at  sunrise  and  continues  till  sunset.  In 
summer  time  it  is  better  for  them,  for  then  doors  can 
be  opened  and  fresh  air  let  in. 

If  a  boy  gets  tired  of  this  tedious  routine  and  runs 
away  from  the  school,  or  is  unable  to  master  the  diffi- 
cult Arabic  verses  of  the  Koran,  they  are  bastinadoed — 
a  very  cruel  form  of  punishment.  If  they  get  tired  of 
the  motion  of  constantly  moving  backward  and  for- 
ward and  rest,  they  are  struck  with  a  stick  on  the 
shoulders.  There  are  no  holidays  during  the  whole 
year,  except  on  Fridays,  which  is  the  Sabbath  in 
Persia.     A  master  of  such  a  school  himself  knew  some 


126  THE   CHILD. 


children  who,  after  eight  years  learning  in  the  way 
described,  could  not  tell  one  letter  from  another.  No 
wonder  that  with  such  a  system  of  education  one 
finds  in  Persia  among  one  thousand  men,  perhaps 
but  one  who  is  able  to  read  and  write;  and  among 
one  hundred  who  can  read  and  write  only  one  can  do 
so  correctly. 

No  education  of  any  sort  is  provided  for  girls,  ex- 
cept among  the  rich  whose  daughters  are  sometimes 
taught  to  read  the  Koran,  which  is,  among  Moham- 
medans, considered  a  meritorious  thing  to  do.  Village 
boys  have  a  happier  life,  as  they  are  free  from  school 
altogether  and  spend  their  days  attending  cattle. 

Children  in  Persia  are  taught  very  early  to  hate 
Christians  and  the  Jews,  especially  the  latter,  and 
think  of  them  as  unclean.  On  their  way  to  school,  or 
shops,  they  torment  the  Jewish  boys  and  girls  by  strik- 
ing them  on  their  heads,  stoning  them,  &c. ;  and  are 
encouraged  to  do  this  by  grown-up  people. 

THE   CHILDREN   OF  CHINA. 

The  advent  of  a  little  boy  in  a  Chinese  family  is 
an  event.  There  never  was  such  a  fine  baby  born ! 
What  compliments  pass!  What  rejoicings  take  place  ! 
But  as  in  so  many  other  countries,  the  little  girls  are 
great  mistakes,  and  it  goes  badly  with  them.  The 
first  three  days  they  lie  on  some  rags  on  the  fioor. 
This  is  the  preface  to  the  sad  story  of  their  lives. 


THE   CHILDREN   OF   CHINA.  127 

When  three  days  old  the  baby  is  washed  with 
charmed  water,  for  luck ;  in  this  water  there  are 
pepper,  dates,  walnuts,  soap,  chips  of  acacia  wood, 
and  other  ingredients,  good  for  washing  off  the  baby's 
outside  skin.  Then  it  is  washed  in  more  water,  in 
which  have  been  put  some  "cash,"  chestnuts,  dates  and 
silver.  This  washing  is  designed  to  secure  riches  for 
the  child  when  it  shall  have  grown  up.  Then  a  large 
plaster  is  put  on  the  baby,  made  of  pitch  and  a  plant 
called  mugwort.  The  object  of  this  is  to  prevent  its 
having  any  aches  or  pains.  After  this  the  skin  is 
smeared  with  white  of  egg  to  give  it  a  good  com- 
plexion, and  then  it  is  beaten  on  the  hip  with  an  onion 
to  make  it  clever. 

For  fourteen  days,  and  sometimes  for  a  longer 
period,  the  baby  undergoes  the  ceremony  of  "  binding 
the  wrists."  A  piece  of  red  cord,  about  two  feet  long, 
so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  infant's  freedom  is  tied 
round  each  of  the  wrists  and  fastened.  Some  children 
have  a  few  old  cash  tied  to  the  cord.  Some  have  a  red 
string  without  any  cash.  Others  have  silver  toys,  as 
well  as  cash,  tied  round  their  wrists.  The  charm  of 
the  cord  is  that  it  will  keep  them  from  being  naughty 
afterwards,  preventing  their  being  frightened,  and 
throwing  their  arms  about.  Evil  spirits  are  to  be  kept 
away  by  the  cash  ;  and  the  toys  are  to  make  it  a 
happy  child. 

When  a  child  is  a  month  old  all  its  hair  is  shaven 
off.     If  the  baby  is  a  boy,  the  relatives  and  friends  are 


128  THE    CHILD. 


invited  to  a  feast  the  day  he  is  shaven,  and  presents 
pour  in  on  the  lucky  little  fellow,  one  of  the  gifts 
always  being  a  plate  with  "  Long  life,  honours,  and 
happiness,"  engraved  upon  it. 

After  the  first  washing  a  baby  is  not  put  into  the 
water  for  a  year.  It  is  considered  dangerous.  Its  face 
and  hands  are  wiped  with  a  damp  cloth  ;  the  rest  of 
its  little  body  goes  dirty.  Its  head  is  shaven  often  to 
increase  the  growth  of  the  hair,  and  when  an  inch  or 
two  long  it  is  plaited  into  a  tiny  tail  on  the  top  of  the 
head  with  a  bit  of  silk. 

The  infant  never  gets  any  kisses.  The  mother 
smells  its  face  instead  of  kissing  it.  Instead  of  ex- 
claiming "  what  a  darling!"  the  mother  says:  "how 
nice  you  smell !" 

It  is  not  often  that  a  girl  will  get  the  fondling  that 
a  mother  gives  to  her  boy.  Alas  !  multitudes  of  girls 
are  destroyed  as  soon  as  they  are  born  ;  their  inhuman 
parents  would  rather  kill  them  than  have  to  feed  them. 
They  are  often  drowned  like  kittens ;  and  with  greater 
cruelty  still,  they  are  sometimes  burned  alive. 

How  is  the  inteUigence  of  a  boy  first  addressed  ? 
and  how  is  the  bent  of  his  genius  first  discovered  ? 
At  about  three  months  old,  he  has  several  objects 
placed  before  him — a  pair  of  shears,  a  pair  of  scales, 
a  measure,  a  mirror,  a  pencil,  some  ink,  paper,  books, 
and  other  things,  and  from  what  he  first  happens  to 
touch,  it  is  inferred  what  he  is  going  to  be  when  he 
becomes  a  man.     If  he  put  his  hand  on  a  book  or  a 


THE   CHILDREN  OF  CHINA.  129 

pen,  they  say  he  will  be  a  great  scholar ;    if  he  touch 
the  scales,  he  is  destined  to  be  a  successful  merchant. 

The  child's  first  instruction  is  in  the  worship  of  idols 
and  its  dead  relations  and  spirits.  They  are  taught 
to  work  as  soon  as  they  can  walk.  This  develops  a 
gravity  of  demeanour  which  is  characteristic  of  the 
Chinese.  Before  visitors  children  are  reverential.  If 
a  visitor  ask  to  see  the  boys,  they  are  sent  for,  and  on 
entering  the  room  they  kneel  down  before  the  visitor, 
and  knock  their  heads  on  the  floor  several  times,  and 
then  they  get  up  and  stand  facing  him,  but  some  dis- 
tance off.  And  this  is  good  behaviour  in  which  the 
Chinese  take  great  pride. 

The  Chinese  are  great  at  gambling,  and  as  their 
children  have  few  games  or  toys,  but  are  taught  that 
they  must  behave  like  gentlemen,  they  soon  acquire 
the  gentlemanly  habit  of  gambling  with  cards  and 
dominoes.  Perhaps  a  less  objectionable  accompHsh- 
ment  for  a  gentleman  is  the  making  and  flying  of  kites, 
for  which  they  have  a  world-wide  reputation. 

Obedience  is  a  fine  characteristic  of  a  child  ;  and 
the  Chinese  display  this  virtue  long  after  our  English 
children  have  put  it  away  as  a  childish  thing. 

With  the  prevailing  superstition  of  the  parents,  the 
children  are  soon  infected.  The  following  story  illus- 
trates this,  but  it  also  tells  of  something  better.  The 
tenderness  and  sympathy  of  a  little  girl  were  brought 
out  through  her  unintentionally  causing  the  death  of 
two  dragon-flies  while  playing  with   them.      This  so 


130  THE   CHILD. 


preyed  on  her  mind  that  she  fell  ill,  and  for  a  time 
lost  her  reason.  Her  parents  were  much  concerned 
and  being  as  superstitious  as  the  child,  sent  for  the 
Buddhist  and  Taoist  priests  to  cure  their  child,  but  the 
louder  they  chanted  the  worse  the  child  became,  till 
they  feared  she  would  die.  The  news  of  the  trouble 
and  its  cause  spread,  and  a  native  gentleman  who  was 
a  scholar,  hearing  of  it,  went  to  the  house  and  told  her 
parents  that  he  had  knowledge  of  what  we  call  "  the 
black  art,"  and  could  restore  their  little  girl  if  they 
would  allow  him  to  do  so.  They  thanked  him,  and  he 
ordered  the  whole  gang  of  priests  away,  and  when 
quiet  was  restored  went  in  to  see  the  child  and  told 
her  that  by  his  arts  he  had  captured  the  spirits  of  the 
two  dragon-flies  and  imprisoned  them  in  two  paper 
ones  which  he  would  show  her,  and  that  if  she  burnt 
incense  and  made  her  prostrations  to  the  paper  ones 
containing  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  they  would  leave  off 
troubling  her. 

The  child  did  so  and  recovered  from  her  fears  and 
was  soon  well  again. 

The  parents  offered  him  money  and  thanks,  but  he 
said,  "  you  foolish  people,  it  is  you  with  your  ignorance 
and  nonsense  that  have  hurt  the  little  girl  and  nearly 
killed  her,  not  the  dead  flies.  I  have  no  such  power 
as  you  suppose,  but  by  deceit  have  undone  the  harm 
that  your  foolish  teaching  has  done  the  child." 

Chinese  girls,  while  yet  quite  young,  are  set  to  work. 
One  of  their  first  occupations  is  pasting  bits  of  old  rags 


THE   CHILDREN  OF  CHINA.  131 


to  boards,  till  they  are  about  as  thick  and  strong  as 
pasteboard.  These  are  put  to  dry  in  the  sun,  and  then 
the  rag  is  pulled  off  the  boards  and  cut  up  into  soles 
for  the  common  kind  of  shoes. 

English  children  as  well  as  grown-up  people  are 
generally  very  polite  to  strangers.  The  Chinese  are 
polite  at  home  ;  they  are  ready  to  give  up  their  favourite 
toys,  their  cherished  seat,  their  most  prized  books  to 
others,  and  they  do  not  make  themselves  miserable  by 
these  little  acts  of  self-denial. 

Every  boy  means  to  be  a  learned  man ;  learning 
comes  before  wealth.  Paper,  ink,  slabs,  and  brushes 
are  called  the  four  precious  things.  Thus  the  faculties 
of  the  boys  are  encouraged. 

This  story  of  a  little  boy,  who  was  ambitious  to  be- 
come a  learned  man,  is  authentic.  He  was  so  poor,  he 
could  not  aiford  a  candle,  and  the  evening  was  his  only 
time  for  study.  His  neighbours  in  the  next  house 
enjoyed  the  light  of  candles.  A  chink  in  the  wall 
allowed  a  streak  of  light  to  shine  upon  the  boy's  book, 
and  thus  was  he  able  to  pursue  his  studies. 

Another  boy  depended  for  his  evening  light  on  a 
fire-fly  shut  up  in  a  bottle,  and  by  this  light  he  used  to 
read. 

A  boy,  who  was  always  falling  asleep  over  his  lessons, 
would  keep  himself  awake  by  tying  his  pig-tail  to  a 
beam  in  his  room,  so  that  when  he  nodded  he  would 
wake  up  by  a  pull  at  his  pig-tail. 

As  we  find  in  other  countries  where  woman  is  de- 

K  2 


132  THE   CHILD. 


graded,   the   men  undergo   examinations  from   which 
women  are  excluded. 

Ancient  institutions  and  customs  are  perpetuated 
from  generation  to  generation.  And  children — cabined, 
cribbed,  confined — have  a  poor  chance  of  healthy  de- 
velopment of  mind  on  the  lines  of  nature  or  grace. 


CHILDHOOD  IN  THE  DARK  CONTINENT. 

The  following  statements  touching  childhood  in 
Africa  are  mainly  from  "  The  Children  of  Africa,'" 

"  Lander  when  he  was  in  Africa  saw  a  mother  sell 
her  little  girl  for  a  necklace.  She  was  not  a  baby 
either,  so  it  was  not  to  save  carrying  her,  that  her 
mother  wanted  to  sell  her.  The  poor  little  girl  clung 
to  her  mother's  knees,  saying,  '  Oh,  mother,  do  not  sell 
me.  What  will  become  of  me  ?  What  will  become  of 
you  when  you  get  old,  if  you  let  me  go  away  from  you  ? 
Who  will  fetch  your  corn  and  milk  ?  Who  will  pity 
you  when  you  die  ?  '  But  the  mother  took  no  notice, 
and  the  poor  little  girl  was  sold,  and  all  for  the  sake 
of  a  necklace.  Among  the  Fantees,  fathers  and 
mothers  pawn  their  children.  Husbands  pawn  their 
wives  too,  and  even  themselves.  If  the  person  pawned 
is  a  woman  or  girl,  the  man  who  takes  her  can  be  just 
as  cruel  to  her  as  he  likes." 

'*You  must  not  think  that  all  West  African  mothers 
are  bad  ones.  Some  of  them  love  their  children  very 
much,  and  their  children  love  them." 


CHILDHOOD   IN  THE  DARK  CONTINENT.        133 

"Another  very  cruel  thing  that  is  done  in  West 
Africa,  and  in  other  parts  too,  is  that  if  two  httle 
babies  are  born  at  the  same  time  they  are  killed,  be- 
cause it  is  thought  unlucky  to  have  twins.  On  the 
Niger,  when  twins  are  born,  they  are  killed  directly  and 
thrown  away,  and  nobody  is  ever  allowed  to  speak 
about  them." 

"  In  some  parts  of  West  Africa  not  only  twins  are 
killed,  but  also  all  boys  and  girls  whose  top  teeth  come 
through  before  their  bottom  ones." 

"  In  Lower  Guinea,  as  soon  as  a  child  is  born,  the 
news  is  told  in  the  street  by  the  crier  in  a  loud 
voice,  so  that  every  one  may  know.  Then  someone 
in  another  part  of  the  town  answers  the  cry,  and  pro- 
mises that  the  people  of  the  town  will  receive  the  child 
amongst  them,  and  that  it  shall  be  treated  as  if  it  be- 
longed to  them.  Then  a  crowd  collects  in  the  street, 
and  the  baby  is  brought  out  and  shown.  A  basin  of 
water  is  brought  too,  and  the  head  man  of  the  town 
or  family  sprinkles  some  water  on  the  baby,  gives  it  a 
name,  and  says  he  hopes  it  may  live  to  be  old,  to  be 
rich,  and  to  have  many  children  of  its  own,  or  some- 
thing of  that  sort.  Most  of  the  people  in  the  crowd 
do  the  same  as  the  head  man,  till  the  poor  baby  is 
quite  wet  through.  All  who  help  in  this  sprinkling 
promise  that  they  will  be  friends  of  the  baby.  The 
people  say  they  do  not  know  what  was  the  beginning 
of  this  custom,  nor  whether  it  has  any  meaning." 

"  The  children  in  Lower  Guinea  are  taught  to  be 
very  respectful  to  old  people." 


134  THE  CHILD. 


"  Among  the  Zulus  and  most  other  tribes  in  South 
Africa,  the  parents  are  very  glad  when  a  girl  is  born, 
because  they  expect  to  get  a  good  price  for  her  from 
the  man  who  marries  her." 

"  When  she  is  fourteen  or  fifteen  a  girl  is  called 
grown-up,  and  then,  instead  of  being  more  useful,  as 
you  would  expect,  she  is  allowed  to  be  just  as  lazy  as 
she  likes  for  a  few  years,  and  in  some  parts  of  the 
country  spends  her  time  in  lying  on  the  ground  in  the 
sun,  gossiping,  dancing,  or  at  the  best,  making  belts, 
necklaces,  bracelets,  and  rings  with  beads.  She  lives 
this  idle  life  till  she  gets  married,  which  is  not  gener- 
ally till   she  is  eighteen   or  twenty,  though   in   some 

tribes  the  girls  marry  younger She  will  have  no 

time  to  be  lazy  after  that.  She  will  have  to  put  on  a 
leather  petticoat,  cut  the  front  part  of  her  hair  close  to 
her  head,  make  a  chignon  at  the  back  dyed  red  (this  is 
the  sign  of  a  married  woman)  and  set  to  work  to  get 
food  for  her  husband." 

"  The  Bushmen  are  not  all  kind  to  their  wives  and 
children.  A  father  often  nearly  kills  his  children  if  he 
is  angry  with  them,  or  if  they  are  not  a  nice  shape, 
or  even  if  they  want  food.  The  children  are  often 
smothered  or  strangled,  or  thrown  away  in  the  desert 
to  be  starved  or  eaten  by  wild  beasts.  Even  the 
mothers  are  no  better.  Sometimes  if  a  lion  is  heard 
roaring  at  the  mouth  of  a  cave  (you  remember  the 
Bushmen's  huts  are  really  caves),  a  father  or  mother 
will  throw  their  baby  to  it  to  make  it  quiet.      The 


ARAB   CHILDREN.  135 


mothers  generally  take  no  care  of  their  children  after 
they  are  able  to  crawl  about  by  themselves.  If  a 
mother  dies  when  her  child  is  still  younger  than  this, 
the  child  is  buried  alive  with  her." 

"The  Barotsi,  who  live  north  of  Bechuanaland, 
have  some  very  cruel  customs  with  the  children.  At 
very  important  times  they  cut  off  the  fingers  and  toes 
of  a  little  child,  and  sprinkle  some  of  the  blood  on  the 
boat  or  house  that  the  king  is  going  to  use,  and  then 
toss  the  child  into  the  Zambesi  river." 

It  is  recorded  of  missionaries  in  Africa  that  when 
entering  a  fresh  district  and  seeing  the  alarm  on  the 
faces  of  natives,  and  the  preparations  for  war  at  the 
sight  of  the  white-faced  strangers,  peace  and  content 
(re-assurance  ?)  and  a  sense  of  security  will  immedi- 
ately reign  amongst  the  men  when  the  missionary  puts 
forth  his  wife  and  child  for  them  to  do  what  they  like 
with  them. 


ARAB    CHILDREN. 

From  a  work  on  Domestic  Life  in  Palestine  we  give  a 
glimpse  of  Arab  child  life,  with  some  of  its  special 
characteristics. 

During  the  absence  of  the  Consul,  Miss  Rogers  was 
visited  by  two  little  girls  of  the  Sakhali  family  who 
came  to  her,  saying,  *'Oh,  Miriam,  peace  be  upon  you. 
We  have  thought  that  you  must  be  sad  and  lonely.  .  .  . 
may  he  return  to  you  soon  and  in  safety !  " They 


136  THE  CHILD. 


were  very  clever,  quick  children ;  and  though  only 
eight  and  nine  years  old,  they  could  already  make 
bread  and  prepare  many  simple  dishes.  They  were 
surprised  that  Miss  Rogers  had  not  been  taught  how 
to  cook ;  it  is  the  chief  point  in  the  education  of  an 
Arab  girl.  On  being  summoned  away  from  the  chil- 
dren, whom  she  had  been  amusing  and  instructing  from 
her  workbox,  and  the  children  being  told  that  she  must 
go,  they  said  : — "  We  are  glad  that  you  will  to-day  see 
the  Consul ;  but  we  are  sorry  you  are  going  away  from 
us  ;  go  in  peace." 

Another  story,  from  the  same  book,  illustrates  the 
influence  of  children. 

"Little  Nimhr,  the  son  of  the  Agha,  arrived;  he  was 
about  seven  years  old.  He  came  bounding  into  the 
room,  and  was  soon  wrapped  in  the  folds  of  his  father's 
scarlet  cloak  and  covered  with  kisses  and  caresses. 
I  was  struck  by  the  change  in  the  somewhat  stern 
aspect  of  Salihh  Agha.  He  was  full  of  tenderness  and 
demonstrative  affection  for  his  little  son,  an  ugly  boy, 
but  of  that  piquant  description   of  ugliness  which   is 

sometimes    so   attractive He   showed    in    every 

action  that  he  was  accustomed  to  be  noticed  and 
lovingly  treated." 

The  following  picture  of  the  freedom  of  the  younger 
children  in  the  presence  of  an  affectionate  father,  and 
the  restrained  behaviour  of  an  educated  elder  daughter 
of  the  same  father,  throws  light  on  the  family  life. 

"His,   Saleh    Bek's,  children    unconsciously  proved 


NEW  GUINEA.  137 


to  me  that  they  were  accustomed  to  be  caressed  by 
him,  for  they  clustered  round  him  lovingly,  and  little 
Said  was  especially  demonstrative.  He  said  coaxingly, 
*  O,  my  father,  may  I  go  to  see  the  house  of  the 
English  lady?  it  is  her  wish  that  I  should  go.'  Asme, 
his  eldest  daughter,  scarcely  spoke  a  word,  and  sat 
sedately  still  and  impassive ;  and  the  face  which  a  few 
minutes  before  had  seemed  to  me  so  beautiful  with 
vivacity  and  cheerfulness  looked  quite  unattractive.  It 
seems  to  me  to  be  a  part  of  Oriental  etiquette  for  the 
elder  children  to  preserve  a  kind  of  grave  decorum  in 
the  presence  of  a  father,  the  younger  children  alone  are 
free  to  show  their  natural  feelings,  and  demonstrative 
affection  is  regarded  as  childish  and  undignified." 

Old  Testament  facts  are  confirmed  by  the  present 
habits  of  the  Arabs  in  Palestine.  The  East  is  station- 
ary. Many  of  the  practices  of  the  Arabs  of  to-day 
are  as  old  as  the  book  of  Genesis  and  the  time  of  the 
Patriarchs. 


NEW    GUINEA. 

While  at  this  section  of  the  book,  Mrs.  Chalmers, 
the  wife  of  a  Christian  missionary  in  New  Guinea, 
brought  under  the  writer's  notice  some  interesting 
facts  connected  with  their  life  among  the  "  Savages." 

During  the  first  year  of  a  child's  life  the  mother  is 
expected  to  devote  herself  entirely  to  her  offspring  and 
it  is  therefore  necessary  for  a  second  wife  to  attend  to 


138  THE    CHILD. 


the  cultivation  of  the  ground,  which  is  her  particular 
right,  and  prepare  food  for  the  husband. 

Their  affection  is  remarkable ;  and  the  father  shares 
the  solicitude  of  the  mother.  The  gentleness  and 
tenderness  of  the  fathers  is  such  as  one  observes  in  the 
Japanese,  who  enjoy  the  nursing  of  the  children  in 
their  dinner  hour  as  the  best  part  of  the  meal. 

The  boy's  early  education  and  amusement  consist 
in  the  training  of  the  eyes  and  limbs,  especially  in  the 
use  of  the  assegai  and  the  bow  and  arrow.  The  career 
of  a  warrior  is  placed  before  their  ambition  as  the 
great  object  of  their  lives.  As  the  child  grows  older, 
he  is  passed  through  several  stages  of  his  progress 
towards  manhood,  each  stage  being  marked  by  an 
initiatory  rite,  and  celebrated  by  a  festival.  The 
children,  boys  and  girls,  are  taught  dancing, — the 
sexes  always  being  divided,  while  the  two  parties  are 
in  sight  of  each  other.  The  mothers  dress  the  child- 
ren with  flowers  and  artistically  arranged  leaves.  The 
attention  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chalmers  was  drawn  to  the 
children,  while  watching  their  movements.  "  That's 
my  boy,"  "  That's  my  beauty,"  might  be  heard  with 
delighted  exclamations.  As  the  boys  grow  up,  the 
initiatory  mysteries  suggest  some  severe  if  not  cruel 
rites,  but  Mr.  Chalmers  has  never  penetrated  the 
secret.  They  are  shut  up  at  the  age  of  twelve  in  sacred 
custody  of  old  men :  no  woman  is  allowed  to  go  near 
the  enclosure. 

These   good   missionaries    have    won    the    affection 


NEW   GUINEA 


and  respect  of  the  natives.  Our  artificial,  unnatural 
civilization  in  Mr.  Chalmer's  estimation  is  not  to  be 
preferred  to  the  simple,  free  and  natural  civilization  of 
the  savages  !  He  knows  them,  and  trusts  them,  and 
he  goes  about  among  them  without  fear.  One  day 
Mrs.  Chalmers  missed  a  table  cloth.  She  denounced 
the  thief — would  have  nothing  to  do  with  man  or  boy, 
till  the  table  cloth  was  restored.  One  boy  at  length 
produced  it.  He  said  he  found  it  at  the  bottom  of  the 
river.  But  the  coffee  stains,  &c.,  upon  it  refuted  the 
explanation.  Still  they  were  glad  it  was  returned,  and 
several  devoted  converts  wiped  their  tears  from  their 
eyes,  when  they  knew  they  were  to  be  treated  as 
friends  again. 

The  natives  usually  crowd  around,  many  coming 
into  the  sitting  room  of  the  missionaries,  but  while 
partaking  of  a  meal,  they  show  their  delicacy  of  feel- 
ing by  withdrawing  to  the  outside,  or  stopping  in  the 
doorway.  They  have  made  many  of  their  converts 
teachers  in  their  school. 

According  to  Figuier,  the  Patagonians  are  about  the 
lowest  in  the  scale  of  humanity.  "  The  existence  of  a 
new-born  infant  is  submitted  to  the  (kind  ?)  considera- 
tion of  the  father  and  mother,  who  decide  upon  its 
life  or  death.  Should  they  think  fit  to  get  rid  of  it,  it 
is  smothered,  and  its  body  carried  a  short  distance, 
and  then  abandoned  to  wild  dogs  and  birds  of  prey." 

Marriage  among  these  nations  is  a  traffic,  a  barter 
of  various  articles  and  animals  for  a  wife.     The  woman 


140  THE   CHILD. 


moreover  is  burdened  with  work,  whilst  the  man  takes 
his  ease,  whenever  he  is  not  hunting  or  engaged  in 
minding  the  cattle. 


THE    CHILDREN    OF  JAPAN. 
"  The  gentleness  of  Jesus." 

"  The  Gospel  of  Creation  "*  it  may  be  difficult  to 
trace  among  whole  nations  of  savages,  so  completely 
has  it  vanished  like  a  bright  morning  cloud  from  their 
horizon, — so  clearly  erased,  apparently,  from  the  tablet 
of  the  human  heart.  Yet  it  would  be  more  correct, 
perhaps,  to  say  that  "  it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost," 
and  only  hidden  beneath  the  rubbish  which  centuries 
of  perversity,  barbarity  and  brutality  have  accumulated 
over  it.  Bishop  Westcott  cannot  greatly  err  when  he 
maintains  that  the  incarnation  preceded  sin  :  and  al- 
though sin  has  marred  "the  human  face  divine,"  the 
likeness  of  God  is  only  defaced  not  destroyed.  The 
fine  gold  has  become  dim,  but  the  gold  of  incarnate 
Divinity  has  not  all  been  extracted  from  the  mine  of 
humanity. 

One  sweet  trait  of  the  nature  of  Christ  is  His  gentle- 
ness,\     It  is  remarkable  that  during  the  eighteen  cen- 

*  Vide  Christus  Consummator  :  some  Aspects  of  the  Work  and  Power 
of  Christ  in  relation  to  Modern  Thought,  by  Brooke  Foss  Westcott, 
D.D.,  D.C.L.,  Bishop  of  Durham,  second  edition,  1887. 

f  "  Now  I  Paul  myself  intreat  you,  by  the  meekness  and  gentleness  of 
Christy  I  who  in  your  presence  am  lowly  among  you . . .  " — 2  Cor.  x.  i. 


THE   CHILDREN  OF  JAPAN.  141 


turies  of  Christian  civilization — especially  among  theo- 
logians,— this  tender  plant,  the  gentleness  of  Christ, 
may  be  sought  after  and  found  only  as  a  very  rare 
specimen.  Choked  by  the  bitter  weeds  of  arrogance, 
self-assertion,  and  implied  or  avowed  infallibility,  the 
gentleness  of  Jesus  seems  almost  to  have  been  exter- 
minated or  to  have  perished.  The  tendency  of  offi- 
cialism is  to  wither  it,  whether  in  Church  or  State. 
Spiritual  power  and  authority  are  incompatible.  Des- 
potism and  gentleness  have  never  been  twin  sisters. 
Anathema  and  meekness  do  not  well  up  from  the  same 
fountain. 

The  Gospel  of  Creation  is  obscured  or  "hid"  among 
the  nations  who  know  not  God  ;  but  it  is  not  difficult 
to  trace  a  line  here  and  there  of  its  primal  fulness  and 
perfection.  Nor  ought  it  to  surprise  us  if,  among  the 
heathen,  fragments  of  the  precious  gift,  by  Creative 
grace,  have  been  preserved.  The  East  will  bear  its 
testimony  as  well  as  the  West.  If  the  children  of 
Abraham  still  nourished  the  sense  of  divine  righteous- 
ness ;  if  something  of  its  essential  glory  survived  in  the 
genius  and  ideal  beauty  of  the  Greek  ;  if  its  divine  order 
still  asserted  itself  in  Roman  jurisprudence,  why  should 
we  be  surprised  if  vestiges  of  the  primal  gospel  are  dis- 
coverable in  the  life  and  character  of  the  Japanese  ? 

There  are  many  points  of  identity  between  the 
Japanese  and  the  Chinese.  The  creeds  of  Buddha  and 
Confucius  have  both  moulded  the  religious  thought 
and  life  of  the  two  nations.     Their  priests  and  pagodas 


142  THE  CHILD. 


are  alike.  Their  literature  and  written  language  are 
the  same.  Till  the  Chinese  men  adopted  pigtails, 
the  hair  of  both  nations  was  worn  in  the  same  manner. 
The  buildings  and  junks  were  till  quite  recently  the 
same,  as  also  their  kinds  of  food.  But  it  is  in  a  moral 
point  of  view  the  Japanese  compare  most  favourably 
with  the  Chinese.  They  are  cleanly  in  their  persons 
and  dwellings  :    intelligent,  brave  and  honourable. 

For  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  survival  of  the 
Gospel  of  Creation  we  may  go  to  Japan.  We  plume 
ourselves  on  our  superiority,  and  lay  the  flattering 
unction  to  our  souls  that  the  Japanese  are  indebted 
to  our  European  ideas  and  institutions  for  their  rapid 
progress  in  the  arts  of  civilization.  Doubtless  the 
Japanese  would  gratefully  and  ungrudgingly  acknow- 
ledge their  obligations  to  Europe.  But  the  power  of 
rapid  assimilation  is  due  to  their  own  moral  capacity — 
the  receptivity  of  their  gentle  natures — their  freedom 
from  prejudice  and  suspicion.  No  other  Asiatic  nation 
has  discovered  the  same  plastic  quality  by  which  its 
life  could  be  so  readily  moulded  by  the  arts  of  Western 
Civilization  as  the  Japanese.  Their  peculiar  aptitude 
for  taking  on  the  forms  of  European  life  is  most  strik- 
ing. How  is  this  ?  They  have  gentle  manners.  They 
are  child-like.  Explain  it  how  we  may,  they  manifest 
in  their  every-day  life  that  beautiful  quality  which  we 
admire  as  gentleness.  This  is  their  cherished  inherit- 
ance from  the  Gospel  of  Creation.  It  was  not  a  very 
conspicuous  trait  in  the  character  of  the  Goths,  the 


THE    CHILDREN   OF  JAPAN.  143 

Vandals  or  the  Huns.  Neither  the  Angles  and  Saxons, 
nor  the  Conqueror,  achieved  celebrity  under  the  banner 
of  the  dove.  And  the  existing  nations  of  Europe  and 
America  are  far  more  familiar  with  the  lion,  the  ser- 
pent, the  eagle,  the  dragon,  and  other  rude  monsters, 
than  with  this  tender  Paradisaical  bird. 

But  what  has  all  this  to  do  with  the  children  of 
Japan  ?     Let  us  see. 

The  Japanese  are  just  now  debating  whether  they 
shall  mould  their  habits  on  the  Christian  system  of 
morality,  or  on  science  and  philosophy.  They  are 
really  divided  between  the  Gospel  which  they  have 
inherited  from  Creation,  and  the  gospel  of  conven- 
tional Christianity,  as  they  estimate  it  from  our  inter- 
course with  them.  If  they  could  really  see  the  Christ 
putting  a  little  child  in  the  midst,  they  would  feel  so 
thoroughly  at  home  with  Him,  that  the  controversy 
would  be  at  once  ended.  For  childhood  lies  at  the 
very  foundation  of  their  domestic  and  social  life. 

We,  the  professed  followers  of  the  meek  and  gentle 
Jesus,  are  simply  startled  by  the  public  announcements 
just  now  being  issued  under  the  benign  authority  of 
the  Mikado.  These  announcements  touch  practical, 
and  especially  official,  life.  Did  any  Christian  govern- 
ment ever  suggest  to  Count  Goto,  one  of  the  Japanese 
ministers,  that  in  the  Communications  Department — 
in  post-offices  and  postal  savings-banks — "  every  mem- 
ber of  the  public,  irrespective  of  social  or  official  posi- 
tion, should  be  treated  with  politeness  and  civility "  ? 


144  THE    CHILD. 


The  same  minister  further  urges  the  importance  ot 
avoiding  all  assumption  of  authority  or  show  of  official- 
dom, in  dealing  with  females,  old  people,  and  those  of 
tender  years.  Every  official  should  be  "kind  and  un- 
assuming to  all  persons  entitled  to  avail  themselves 
of  his  services ;  "  and  the  public,  "  so  far  from  being 
rendered  reluctant  to  face  the  airs  of  officialdom,  should 
be  able  to  feel  that  they  may  always  count  on  ready  and 
polite  attention."*  The  writer  once  asked  a  class  of 
250  children,  how  they  regarded  the  policeman.  Most 
of  them  evidently  shuddered  at  the  name ;  and  one  little 
girl  said  she  should  run  away  as  fast  as  she  could. 
This  may  be  less  discreditable  to  the  police  than  to 
parents,  who  most  unfairly  threaten  the  troublesome 
child  with  "  the  policeman  "  as  a  stimulus. 

Neither  through  the  channels  of  commerce  nor  the 
church  can  this  gentleness  be  regarded  as  a  European 
import.  If  it  be  not  a  vestige  of  that  original  gospel 
written  on  the  fleshly  table  of  the  heart,  what  is  it  ? 
What  can  it  be  ?  That  it  is  not  something  foreign, 
now  for  the  first  time  grafted  on  the  Institutions  of 
Japan,  is  clear.  It  is  indigenous — not  exotic.  It  is  a 
natural  evolution,  and  no  prettier  bit  of  evidence  can 
be  adduced  than  that  which  modern  travellers  in  the 
Mikado's  domains  describe. 

That  the  unit  of  humanity  is  not  the  individual  but 
the  family — man,  woman,  and  child — will  not  be  dis- 
puted.    The  formative  forces  of  humanity  as  expressed 

*  See  Daily  Telegraph,  June  13th,  1889. 


THE   CHILDREN  OF  JAPAN.  146 


in  the  family  life,  are  not  exhausted  there.  They  work 
from  the  family  to  the  state,  which  properly  becomes  a 
larger  family ;  and  with  practical  eyes  we  are  actually 
seeing,  more  and  more  clearly,  with  the  progress  of 
true  Christianity,  that  the  nations — all  the  families  of 
the  earth — are  members  only  of  one  great  community — 
brethren  of  whom  the  Christ  is  the  One  head. 

The  unity  of  Japan,  in  its  beautiful  social  aspects,  is 
based  on  the  family  life.  Its  natural  history  is  not  to 
be  traced  in  the  enforcement  by  external  authority  of 
a  cut  and  dried  extraneous  system,  forced  upon  the 
nation  by  "  a  new  constitution,"  but  by  the  working  of 
the  leaven  of  the  family  unit  spreading  its  benevolent 
and  amiable  influence  through  the  ramifications  of 
society. 

The  following  facts,  by  an  English  eye-witness,  will 
justify  the  theory  suggested  : — 

"  I  never  saw  people  take  so  much  delight  in  their 
offspring,  carrying  them  about,  or  holding  their  hands 
in  walking,  watching  and  entering  into  their  games, 
supplying  them  constantly  with  new  toys,  taking  them 
to  picnics  and  festivals,  never  being  content  to  be  with- 
out them,  and  treating  other  people's  children  also 
with  a  suitable  measure  of  affection  and  attention. 
Both  fathers  and  mothers  take  pride  in  their  children. 
It  is  most  amusing  about  six  every  morning  to  see 
twelve  or  fourteen  men  sitting  on  a  low  wall,  each  with 
a  child,  under  two,  in  his  arms,  fondling  and  playing 
with  it,  and  showing  off  its  physique  and  intelligence. 


146  THE   CHILD, 


To  judge  from  appearances,  the  children  form  the  chief 
topic  at  this  morning  gathering.  At  night,  after  the 
houses  are  shut  up,  looking  through  the  long  fringe  of 
rope  or  rattan  which  conceals  the  sliding  door,  you  see 
the  father,  who  wears  nothing  but  a  niaro  in  *the  bosom 
of  his  family,'  bending  his  ugly,  kindly  face  over  a 
gentle-looking  baby,  and  the  mother,  who  more  often 
than  not,  has  dropped  the  kimono  from  her  shoulders, 
enfolding  two  children  destitute  of  clothing  in  her  arms. 

The  children,  though  for  our  ideas  too  gentle 

and  formal,  are  very  prepossessing  in  looks  and  be- 
haviour. They  are  so  perfectly  docile  and  obedient, 
so  ready  to  help  their  parents,  so  good  to  the  little 
ones,  and,  in  the  many  hours  which  I  have  spent  in 
watching  them  at  play,  I  have  never  heard  an  angry 
word,  or  seen  a  sour  look  or  act."* 

"  The  village  Jrimichi,  which  epitomizes  for  me  at 
present  the  village  life  of  Japan,  consists  of  about  300 
houses  built  along  three  roads,  across  which  steps  in 
fours  and  threes  are  placed  at  intervals.  Down  the 
middle  of  each  a  rapid  stream  runs  in  a  stone  channel, 
and  this  gives  endless  amusement  to  the  children, 
specially  to  the  boys,  who  devise  many  ingenious 
models  and  mechanical  toys,  which  are  put  in  motion 

by  water-wheels Obedience   is  the   foundation 

of  the  Japanese  social  order,  and  with  children  accus- 
tomed to  unquestioning  obedience  at  hom.e  the  (school) 
teacher  has  no  trouble  in  securing  quietness,  attention, 

*   Miss  Bird's  Unbeaten  Tracks  in  jfopan,  vol.  i.,  p.  140. 


THE   CHILDREN   OF  JAPAN.  147 

and  docility.  There  was  almost  a  painful  earnestness 
in  the  old-fashioned  faces  which  pored  over  the  school- 
books;    even  such  a  rare  event  as  the  entrance  of  a 

foreigner  failed  to  distract  these  childish  students 

The  mechanical  toys,  worked  by  water-wheels  in  the 
stream,  are  most  fascinating." 

This  is  followed  by  a  description  of  a  children's 
party.  "  One  of  their  games  was  most  amusing,  and 
was  played  with  some  spirit  and  much  dignity.  It 
consisted  in  one  child  feigning  sickness,  and  another 
playing  the  doctor,  and  the  pompousness  and  gravity 
of  the  latter,  and  the  distress  and  weakness  of  the 
former,  were  most  successfully  imitated.  Unfortunately 
the  doctor  killed  his  patient,  who  counterfeited  the 
death  sleep  very  effectively  with  her  whitened  face  ; 
and  then  followed  the  funeral  and  the  mourning.  They 
dramatize  thus  weddings,  dinner-parties,  and  many 
other  of  the  events  of  life.  The  dignity  and  self-posses- 
sion of  these  children  are  wonderful.  The  fact  is  that 
their  initiation  into  all  that  is  required  by  the  rules  of 
Japanese  etiquette,  begins  as  soon  as  they  can  speak, 
so  that  by  the  time  they  are  ten  years  old  they  know 
exactly  what  to  do  and  avoid  under  all  possible  circum- 
stances."* 

Let  these  illustrations  suffice  in  substantiation  of  the 
claim  we  have  made  on  behalf  of  the  children  of  Japan. 

Sir  Edwin  Arnold  gives  a  pretty  picture,  in  Scrihnefs 
Magazine,  of  Japanese  children,  whose  admirable  be- 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  131-2. 

L  2 


148  THE   CHILD. 


haviour,  as  he  says,  really  seems  absolutely  to  confute 
the  doctrine  of  original  sin.  '*  They  never  seem  to  do 
any  mischief,  possibly  because  there  is  not  much  mis- 
chief to  do.  In  the  houses  nothing  of  any  value  exists 
for  them  to  break ;  there  is  nothing  they  will  perpetu- 
ally be  told  *  not  to  touch.'  The  streets  almost  en- 
tirely belong  to  them  (there  is  practically  no  horse 
traffic  in  Tokio),  and  yet,  although  they  may  do  almost 
anything  there  they  never  seem  to  do  anything  v^rong- 
Everybody  is  friendly  to  them  ;  every  fifth  shop  is  full 
of  toys  and  dolls,  and  sweetstuff  of  strange  device,  in- 
gredients, and  colour,  for  their  delectation.  Their 
innocent  v^ays  and  merry  chatter  render  every  quarter 
pleasant."  And  they  are  the  opposite  of  useless  in  the 
domestic  economy,  these  black- eyed  youngsters.  "We 
shall  see  hundreds  of  children,  not  more  than  five  or 
six  years  of  age,  carrying,  fast  asleep,  strapped  on  their 
small  shoulders,  the  baby  of  the  household." 


The  children  of  Madagascar. 

The  state  of  civilization  and  the  moral  condition  of 
a  people  may,  to  a  great  extent,  be  measured  by  the 
reception  given  to  that  little  item  we  call  a  baby.  A 
nation  addicted  to  infanticide,  to  contempt  for  chil- 
dren, will  be  characterised  by  barbarity,  and  their 
country  must  be  reckoned  among  the  dark  places  of 
the  earth. 

How  do  the  Malagasy  welcome  the  little  stranger? 


THE   CHILDREN   OF  MADAGASCAR.  149 


Thus :  "  Hail !  God  has  blessed  you  !  God  has  given 
you  a  successor,  so  we  are  come  to  bring  you  a  little 
money  to  buy  shrimps  for  the  baby's  mother."  The 
baby's  friends  reply :  "May  you  live  long,  may  you  be 
long  protected  from  witchcraft,  may  you,  too,  have 
babies  born  to  you  !  and  as  for  the  money  you  have 
brought,  what  is  that  to  us  ?  It  is  your  coming  to 
visit  us  that  makes  us  glad  ;  but  since  it  is  customary, 
we  thank  you  ;  may  God  bless  you  !  "  None  of  these 
visitors  who  come  crowding  into  the  house  when  a 
baby  is  born  ask  to  look  at  the  little  new-comer ;  that 
would  be  considered  quite  improper ;  but  after  asking 
whether  it  is  a  boy  or  a  girl,  they  sit  and  chat  for  a 
while,  and  then  take  their  leave,  the  women  often 
carrying  off  a  quantity  of  dried  beef  in  their  lamba,  a 
present  from  the  baby's  father." 

The  belief  in  witchcraft  and  in  evil  spirits  in  Mada- 
gascar is,  alas !  most  profound,  and  it  brings  the  Mala- 
gasy quite  up  to  the  level  of  a  British  superstition 
which  still  lurks  about  the  Church  as  well  as  the  rural 
districts  of  our  country.  Hence  children  born  on  un- 
lucky days,  have  been  put  to  death  by  thousands. 
Prompted  by  their  affection  for  their  children  and  their 
alarm  at  the  evils  threatening  their  lives,  and  consider- 
ing, in  their  ignorance  that  these  evils  could  only  be 
averted  by  death,  they  were  driven  to  infanticide.* 

*  An  English  Christian  father,  out  of  the  tenderest  affection  of  his 
heart,  expressed  himself,  in  the  hearing  of  his  children,  as  wishful  that 
his  own  offspring  might  die  young,  that  they  might  be  saved  from  sin- 


150  THE   CHILD. 


"  Sometimes,  however,  the  child  was  not  put  to- 
death  at  once,  but  placed  out  at  the  village  gate,  or 
at  the  entrance  of  an  ox-pit  in  the  yard  outside  the 
house,  just  at  the  time  when  the  cattle  were  being 
driven  home  for  the  night.  If  the  oxen  all  passed  by 
without  touching  it,  the  evil  fates  which  had  hung  over 
the  child's  life  were  supposed  to  be  removed,  and  it 
was  taken  home  again,  with  great  rejoicing.  A  very 
interesting  story  was  told  me  by  one  of  my  scholars 
how  on  one  occasion  a  little  child,  belonging  to  a  slave 
woman  of  theirs,  was  placed  at  the  gate  of  an  ox-pit, 
when  seven  oxen  were  being  driven  home  in  the  even- 
ing. The  first  on  coming  to  the  place  where  the  baby 
lay,  put  its  nose  down  and  smelt  it,  or  as  the  Malagasy 
say  *  kissed '  it,  for  their  kissing  consists  in  nose-rub- 
bing, then  at  one  bound  jumped  right  over  it  and  down 
into  the  pit  below.  The  second  came  and  smelt  it  and 
leapt  over  it  in  the  same  way ;  the  third  came  and  did 
just  the  same,  and  the  fourth,  and  so  on  until  the 
seventh,  and  it  too  jumped  right  over  the  little  one 
without  harming  it  in  the  least.  How  the  poor 
mother's  heart  must  have  beat  with  hope  and  fear  as 
she  saw  one  after  another  of  the  huge  beasts  come  up 
and  thus  take  compassion  on  her  little  child !  It  is 
said  that  the  present  prime  minister  of  Madagascar 
was  put  out  in  this  way  to  be  trodden  by  the  cattle, 

ning  and  from  the  destructive  consequences  of  sin.  The  writer  also 
recalls  the  case  of  a  Christian  English  mother,  goaded  to  madness  by 
the  dread  for  her  child  of  eternal  torments,  drowning  it  in  a  water-butt^ 


THE   CHILDREN   OF  MADAGASCAR.  151 

but  he  likewise  escaped,  and  has  Hved  to  rise  to  great 
power  and  has  been  the  husband  of  three  Queens  of 
Madagascar." 

Might  there  not  be  as  intense  a  maternal  affection  in 
the  Malagasy  mother  as  there  was  in  the  mother  of 
Moses,  whose  successful  attempt  to  save  the  boy  will 
be  carried  down  the  stream  of  time  to  the  end  of  the 
world  ? 

The  greatest  store  is  put  upon  a  first-born  child.  The 
first  time  the  baby  is  taken  into  the  open  air,  when  it  is 
a  month  old,  is  an  important  ceremony.  So  is  also 
the  first  hair-cutting,  at  the  age  of  three  months,  when 
the  relatives  and  friends  of  the  family  assemble.  If 
the  parents  are  sufficiently  well-to-do,  one  or  two  or 
more  oxen  have  been  killed,  and  part  of  the  meat  put 
on  the  fire  to  cook,  and  part  cut  up  to  be  given  to  each 
guest  when  departing  ....  The  hair-cutting  is  pro- 
ceeded with,  with  due  formality :  the  hair  removed 
from  the  child's  head  is  carried  off  to  the  doorway,  and 
placed  under  the  threshold,  and  a  prayer  for  good-luck 
is  offered.  On  the  occasion  of  the  first  hair-cutting 
the  child  receives  a  name. 

The  little  ones  run  about  naked  till  about  three, 
then  they  are  put  into  a  little  akanje,  or  shirt-like 
garment. 

Children  are  very  early  set  to  useful  occupations. 
While  the  slave  or  the  mother  is  getting  the  supper 
ready,  the  father  will  often  tell  the  children  stories  or 
get  them  to  play  at  riddles. 


162  THE   CHILD. 


Charms  and  medicine  reveal  the  superstitious  cha- 
racter of  the  Malagasy  people.  Prohibited  things  are 
called  fady.  Thus  a  little  child  about  a  year  old  must 
not  be  called  good-looking  or  fat,  but  be  spoken  of  as 
ugly,  or  called  a  little  pig,  or  a  little  dog.  An  old  man 
explained  that  the  fear  of  the  child  being  haunted  by 
ghosts  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  practice. 

To  give  a  young  child  an  egg  to  eat  is  fady.  The 
reason  given  is  that  they  are  both  eggs,  and  it  cannot 
be  right  that  one  egg  should  eat  the  other.  Kissing  a 
child's  hand  is  to  be  carefully  avoided,  as  it  is  said  the 
youngster  so  treated  wil  become  selfish,  and  will  beg 
for  anything  it  sees.  So  we  learn  that  selfishness  is 
not  deemed  a  great  virtue.  Nor  are  they  encouraged 
to  repent  of  a  generous  action,  for  they  are  warned 
that  if  they  want  back  anything  they  have  given  away, 
they  might  cause  the  death  of  their  mother. 

Though  the  language  is  so  copious  in  words  which 
express  the  superstition  of  the  people,  it  contains  but 
one  word  which  signifies  God, — the  intuition  of  a 
higher  being. 

The  success  of  Christian  missions  in  the  education 
given  in  schools  is  remarkable.  The  spiritual  possi- 
bilities of  the  children  are  developed  quickly,  while  the 
adults,  loaded  with  superstitions  and  often  hardened  in 
selfishness  and  sin,  are  difficult  to  reach. 


M.  Lobrichon's  well-known  picture  "//  etait  une  fois " 

is,  with  the  permission  of  Messrs.  Boussod,  Valadon  and 
Co.,  reproduced  here  on  account  of  the  various  phases  of 
child-life  which  it  records,  and  the  striking  character 
which  it  depicts,  not  of  one  child  alone,  but  of  each  one 
of  the  group.  The  motherly  authority  of  the  narrator  ; 
the  appreciative  interest  of  the  eldest  listener,  with  the 
absorbed  attention  evinced  in  the  suspended  needle-work. 
The  wondering  meditative  mood  of  the  next,  and  the  least 
of  a  funny  enquiring  turn  of  mind ;  the  artist  not  failing 
in  the  attitudes  of  the  children,  nor  the  surroundings  of 
the  somewhat  humble  home. 


'i^M^ 


OF  THE 


XXNIVERsiT 


THE   CHILD    OF  ART.  153 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   CHILD   OF   ART. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  in  both  ancient  Hterature 
and  art,  childhood  counted  for  very  little.  With  the 
poets  a  child  is  a  rara  avis.  And  with  the  artists  the 
child  is  a  little  old  man.  The  estimate  of  a  child  was 
not  Wordsworth's — "  father  of  the  man,"  but  only 
possible  man.  The  child  grew  in  interest  only  as  he 
approached  the  state  of  manhood. 

Childhood  is  the  period  of  weakness,  and  it  is  its 
weakness  which  lends  to  infancy  its  wonderful  pathos. 
In  the  character  of  the  lively  Greek  or  the  prosaic 
Roman,  strength  of  mind  and  of  muscle  drew  forth 
admiration  and  awoke  the  strenuous  endeavour  to 
excel. 

Take  the  sculpture  of  the  Greek.  Ideal  strength 
seems  to  assert  itself  at  least  as  fully  as  ideal  beauty — 
and  only  the  beauty  of  man  and  woman  is  thought 
worthy  of  the  chisel  of  the  artist. 

If  only  mothers  had  been  artists,  what  pictures 
would  have  come  down  to  us  from  early  times ! 

Certainly  there  are  no  indications  during  the  best 
period  of  Greek  art  of  childhood  as  a  special  study  for 
the  sculptor.  The  beauty  of  children  seems  to  be 
passed    by  for   the   more   stately  beauty  of  men  and 


154  THE   CHILD. 


women.  The  Greeks  were  sensuous,  and  the  more 
fully  developed  form  of  a  Venus  had  an  attraction 
which  the  little  child  utterly  failed  to  excite.  To  the 
Greek  the  family  was  bound  together  by  ties  far  in- 
ferior in  strength  to  that  of  personal  friendship,  and 
not  nearly  so  sacred  as  that  of  country. 

The  story  of  Niobe  comes  down  to  us  through 
Homer  and  various  classical  authors,  who  differ  much 
as  to  the  details.  According  to  the  common  story, 
which  represents  her  as  a  daughter  of  Tantalus,  she 
was  the  sister  of  Pelops,  and  married  to  Amphion, 
King  of  Thebes,  by  whom  she  became  the  mother  of 
many  sons  and  daughters.  Proud  of  the  number  of 
her  children  she  deemed  herself  superior  to  Leto,  who 
had  given  birth  to  two  children  only.  Apollo  and 
Artemis,  indignant  at  such  presumption,  slew  all  the 
children  of  Niobe.  For  nine  days  their  bodies  lay  in 
their  blood,  without  anyone  burying  them,  for  Zeus 
had  changed  the  people  into  stones ;  but  on  the  tenth 
day  the  gods  themselves  buried  them.  Niobe  herself, 
who  had  gone  to  Mount  Sipylus,  was  metamorphosed 
into  stone,  and  even  thus  continued  to  feel  the  calamity 
with  which  the  gods  had  visited  her.  The  story  of 
Niobe  and  her  children  was  frequently  taken  as  a  sub- 
ject of  ancient  art. 

The  most  celebrated  was  the  group  which  filled  the 
pediment  of  the  temple  of  Apollo  Socianus,  at  Rome, 
and  which  was  found  at  Rome  in  the  year  1583.  This 
group  is  now  at  Florence,  and  consists  of  the  mother 


THE    CHILD    OF  ART.  155 


who  holds  her  youngest  daughter  on  her  knees,  and 
thirteen  statues  of  her  sons  and  daughters  besides  the 
psedagogus  of  the  children. 

This  story  reflects  the  character  of  the  mother  and 
her  devotion  to  her  children  at  a  very  early  period. 

We  ransack  the  treasures  of  Greek  art  for  a  little 
child  almost  in  despair.  But  Praxiteles  is  not  dead. 
He  lives  in  Hermes,  the  tender  guardian  of  young 
children,  the  god  who  when  a  child  is  forsaken  of 
father  or  mother,  takes  him  up  and  tends  him. 

The  young  god  Dionysos,  child  of  the  fruitful  earth 
and  the  bright  sunshine,  offspring  of  Semele  and  the 
golden  shower  of  Zeus,  was  just  such  a  forsaken  little 
one.  This  tender  woman-hearted  Hermes  evokes  our 
admiration  and  our  love,  without  awe  or  fear.  Even 
the  child  Dionysos  has  no  fear.  His  little  hand  is 
laid  trustfully  on  the  shoulder  of  Hermes. 

Miss  J.  E.  Harrison*  relates  the  discovery  by  the 
German  excavators  at  Olympia  in  1877,  of  the  statue 
of  Hermes  ;  but  after  describing  its  surpassing  beauty, 
she  tells  us  that  Dionysos,  so  far  as  beauty  goes,  is 
most  disappointing.  "  The  hair,  the  face,  the  body 
are  not  ill-worked  ;  but  stiff  and  somewhat  unpleasant, 
and  wholly  unchildlike.  As  regards  mere  beauty,  we 
could  wish  they  had  never  been  found." 

Pheidias  is  known  for  accuracy  in  minutest  details, 
as  well  as  majesty  in  his  colossal  figures.  He  gave 
proofs  of  his  skill  by  making  images  of  minute  objects 

*  Introductory  Studies  in  Greek  Art. 


166  THE   CHILD. 


such  as  cicadas,  bees,  and  flies — in  chasing  and  en- 
graving. But  were  the  children,  notwithstanding,  be- 
neath his  notice  ?  If  imitative  art  was  beneath 
Pheidias,  was  there  nothing  in  infancy  to  provoke  an 
effort  for  the  attainment  of  the  ideal  beauty  of  his 
inspired  genius  ?  He  dwelt  among  the  gods ;  he 
seems  to  have  had  no  idea  of  a  God  incarnate  in 
an  infant. 

Roman  art  was  severe  and  power  in  any  and  every 
form  they  worshipped.  The  weakness  of  a  little  child 
made  child-life  a  matter  of  indifference.  It  was  valu- 
able only  for  what  it  might  become  in  after  years. 

The  Italian  painters  appreciated  the  beauty  of  in- 
fancy, but  their  conceptions  were  developed  exclusively 
in  their  endeavours  to  picture  the  infant  Jesus.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  early  Flemish  art.  In  Spanish 
art  we  at  once  recall  Murillo's  lively  beggar  boys  which 
convey  the  idea  to  our  minds  that  in  him  we  have  an 
illustration  of  one  who  was  devoted  to  the  study  of 
child-life.  But  in  Spain,  where  he  is  certainly  seen  at 
his  best,  they  are  the  exceptions  to  the  general  rule — 
such  pictures  being  rarely  met  with  in  the  country  ; 
and  under  his  name  the  many  works  in  other  countries 
of  beggar  boys,  are  said  to  have  been  mainly  executed 
by  his  followers. 

When  we  come  down  to  Vandyke  we  see  in  the 
Balbi  children  an  enthusiasm  for  the  glowing  loveliness 
of  an  Italian  child,  though  with  him  it  is  infrequent 
compared  with  the  numerous  examples  of  child-beauty 


THE   CHILD   OF  ART.  167 


by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  and  in  the  picture  galleries  of 
our  own  day. 

How  is  it  that  Caldecott  has  won  our  admiration 
and  affection  too,  as  the  artist  of  Childhood  ?  What 
is  it  that  in  his  subjects  and  their  treatment,  has 
touched  all  child-like  hearts,  in  young  and  old  alike  ? 
It  must  be  the  Divine  humanity  which  comes  out  in 
the  little  words  of  profoundest  meaning.  "  The  least 
of  these,  my  brethren."  Is  it  any  exaggeration  to  say 
that  such  artists  as  Caldecott  and  Kate  Greenaway 
have  done  more  than  most  art  teachers  to  inspire  and 
draw  out  the  art  instinct  in  the  people  ?  Their  secret 
is  truth ;  no  costly  elaboration  or  mechanical  trap- 
pings— the  simple  and  naked  truth. 

The  growing  appreciation  of  childhood  in  art  is  at 
once  the  expression  and  the  encouragement  of  a  rever- 
ence, a  sympathy  and  a  tenderness  of  compassion 
known  only  to  those  whose  highest  conceptions  and 
deepest  feelings  are  due  to  an  inspiration  whose  source 
is  found  in  the  Eternal  Love. 

To  the  art  of  the  photographer  is  justly  due  the 
prominence  given  in  recent  years  to  the  children.  Is 
it  too  much  to  say  that  portraiture  has  received  a  de^ 
cided  impetus  through  the  camera  of  the  photographer  ? 
And  while  children,  as  a  rule,  rarely  advance  beyond  a 
vague  and  indefinite  representation  on  the  canvas  of 
the  early  masters,  photography  has  developed  a  child 
with  a  well-defined  intelligence,  and  often  an  intensity 
of  feeling  of  which  ancient  art  had  no  conception. 


158  THE   CHILD. 


'  Children  have  drawn  out  the  genius  of  the  photo- 
graphic artist,  and  the  photographer,  in  grateful  recog- 
nition of  the  charms  of  childhood,  has  done  much  to 
bring  and  to  keep  the  children  in  the  home  as  promin- 
ently as  they  deserve. 

This  may  horrify  some  ideahsts  ;  but  popular  taste 
and  popular  feeling  are  awakened  and  developed  by 
photographic  portraiture. 


THE   CHILDREN  OF   ISRAEL.  159 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE   CHILDREN    OF   ISRAEL. 
"  Give  me  children,  or  else  I  die." — Gen.  xxx.,  i. 

Glimpses  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood  are  to  be  had 
from  very  early  times  among  the  Jews,  and  the  reflex 
action  of  the  idea  of  God  as  Father  is  discoverable  in 
the  more  tender  regard  for  children  in  subsequent  ages. 

Plato,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  section  devoted  to  the 
best  conceptions  of  childhood  by  heathen  philosophers, 
impresses  us  with  his  deep  interest  in  the  subject.  He 
would  have  children  kept  from  all  that  is  harmful. 
He  enters  into  careful  study  of  the  training  of  children, 
— their  religious  interests  as  well  as  their  physical  and 
mental  culture, — but  that  which  comes  out  so  pro- 
minently in  the  Jewish  conception  of  religion  is  utterly 
wanting  in  Plato.  He  claims  a  great  deal  of  respect 
for  the  gods,  but  he  has  not  a  word  for  what  Jews  and 
Christians  hold  so  dear — the  Divine  Fatherhood.  This 
precious  truth  seems  to  have  been  the  special  gift 
granted  to  the  children  of  Abraham. 

We  find  the  sacred  scriptures  gemmed  with  the 
endearing  terms — "the  Father"  and  "O  righteous 
Father." 

The  mode  of  divine  manifestation  begins  with   the 


160  THE   CHILD. 


idea  of  righteousness.  God's  ways  are  equal.  His 
throne  is  established  in  righteousness.  Under  the 
form  of  Law,  He  made  known  His  ways  unto  Moses. 
In  harmony  with  this  method,  the  first  commandment 
runs  thus  : — Thou  shall  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart. 

God  is  essentially  love ;  and  as  a  final  testimony  to 
the  two  fundamental  characteristics  of  the  Eternal,  our 
Lord,  in  the  presence  of  His  disciples,  apostrophises 
God  thus — 0  righteous  Father ! 

And  who  could  rely  on  a  love  that  was  not  righteous  ? 
God's  love  cannot  be  a  mere  fickle  sentiment ;  now 
hot,  now  cold.  No.  God  is  love.  And  Jesus  reveals 
God,  the  Father.  The  New  Testament  brings  out  the 
grand  truth,  with  the  clouds  and  the  thunderings  and 
lightnings  of  Sinai  cleared  away — and  lo  !  Jesus  with  a 
little  child  upon  His  knee ! 

"  But  God  cannot  be  the  Father  of  a  bad  man." 

The  prodigal  son  says  not  only  that  He  can  be,  but 
that  He  is.  St.  Paul  at  Athens  testified  to  the  same 
broad  fact  without  qualification  or  limitation. 

A  faith  in  the  one  God,  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  is  most  striking  in  its  manifestation  in 
regard  of  children,  and  the  religions  and  civilizations 
of  heathen  nations  fall  into  the  shade  as  the  practices 
of  those  nations  in  the  treatment  of  children  are  con- 
sidered. It  is  a  distinctive  feature  of  Jewish  life, 
through  all  their  history,  that  children  were  not  re- 
garded as  an  incumbrance,  but  as  the  choicest  blessing 


THE   CHILDREN   OF  ISRAEL.  161 

God  could  bestow,  and  the  supreme  evidence  of  Divine 
favour.  The  barrenness  of  a  wife  was  a  reproach,  and 
was  sometimes  considered  a  sufficient  reason  for  a 
divorce.  True,  the  birth  of  a  boy  was  the  occasion 
for  more  joy  than  the  birth  of  a  girl ;  but  the  girl's 
education  was  not  neglected  (Ecclus.  xlii.  g,  lo).  At 
the  hour  of  birth  the  father  was  not  present,  but  he 
was  subsequently  admitted,  when  he  took  the  child 
upon  his  knees.  If  the  grandfather  were  living,  he 
sometimes  had  this  privilege  (Gen.  1.  23).  It  was  ex- 
pressly forbidden  to  make  an  exhibition  of  the  chil- 
dren, a  practice  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  at  which 
the  Jews  were  horrified.*  The  mothers  nursed  their 
infants  themselves,  and  the  Talmud  enjoins  this  as  a 
duty  ("  Cethubboth  "  64  a).  On  the  occasion  of  the 
weaning  of  the  child  Isaac,  Abraham  made  a  great 
feast.  And  Hagar's  greatest  distress  was  occasioned 
by  the  apparently  inevitable  loss  of  her  boy,  when 
"  she  sat  over  against  him,  and  lifted  up  her  voice, 
and  wept."  (Gen.  xxi.  8-17).  Palestinian  women  still 
prolong  the  suckling  of  the  child  for  two  or  three  years ; 
the  practice  is  regarded  as  a  preservative  against  the 
maladies  incident  to  the  climate. 

The  recognition  of  the  infant  by  circumcision  when 
eight  days  old,  must  have  invested  him  with  a  rehgious 
interest  to  the  parents,  and  have  touched  with  an 
emphatic  sacredness  the  whole  family  life. 

*  Philo  has  a  chapter  on  this  subject.     See  Havel  (E.),  Le  jfudaisine, 

P-  437- 

M 


162  THE   CHILD 


In  Hebrew  families  the  education  of  the  child  was 
a  domestic  affair ;  and  this  would  also  develop  and 
strengthen  those  affections  which  make  children  so 
precious. 

There  were  no  public  schools  for  children  till  a  cen- 
tury before  Christ.  Shim'on  ben  Shattach,  the  pre- 
sident of  the  Sanhedrim,  brother  to  Queen  Salome, 
opened  the  first  school  in  Jerusalem  for  children.  He 
called  it  Beth-hassepher  (the  house  of  the  book). 
(Jerus.,  "  Cethubboth,"  VHI.  ii).  The  high  priest, 
Jesus  ben  Gamala,  made  the  founding  of  schools 
obligatory ;  every  town  was  to  have  a  primary  school. 
*'  Perish  the  sanctuary,"  exclaim  the  Rabbis,  in  their 
enthusiasm  for  the  children,  "  but  let  the  children  go 
to  school."     (Babyl.,  ''  Shabbath  "  119  h). 

Philo  made  the  study  of  the  Law^  of  the  first  im- 
portance ;  and  Paul  reminds  Timothy  '*  that  from  a 
child  thou  hast  known  the  Holy  Scriptures." 

"  The  mode  of  education  differed  widely  from  ours. 
As  soon  as  the  child  could   speak  his  mother  taught 

him  a  verse  of  the  law When  the  child  knew  one 

text  he  was  taught  another ;  then  a  written  scroll  of 
the  verses  was  placed  in  his  hands  that  he  might  recite 
them."* 

The  importance  attached  by  the  Jews  to  education, 
and  the  instruction  of  the  child  from  a  very  early 
age,  demonstrate  the  preciousness  of  the  child.  The 
''  Pirke  Aboth  "  (V.  21),  some  parts  of  which  are  cer- 

*  Stapfer's  Palestine  in  the  Time  of  Christ. 


THE   CHILDREN  OF  ISRAEL.  168 

tainly  anterior  to  Christianity,  thus  fixes  the  various 
stages  of  the  child's  development : — '  At  five  years  of 
age  he  should  commence  sacred  studies;  at  ten  he 
should  devote  himself  to  the  study  of  tradition  ;  at 
thirteen  he  should  know  and  fulfil  the  commands  of 
Jehovah ;  at  fifteen  he  should  bring  his  studies  to  per- 
fection.'"* 

Rabbi  Judas  said  : — "  If  a  man  does  not  teach  his 
son  a  trade  it  is  as  if  he  taught  him  to  steal." 
(Babyl.,  *' Kiddushin,"  ch.  i.). 

At  twelve  years  of  age  the  boys  were  taken  to  th^ 
Temple ;  they  observed  the  Torah,  and  took  the  name 
of  Bar  Micoah  ;  they  now  fasted  regularly,  especially 
on  the  great  day  of  atonement. 

Will  it  not  be  found  that  respect  for  woman  carries 
with  it  the  greatest  regard  for  children  ?  A  virtuous 
woman  (Proverbs  of  Solomon)  is  known  by  her  care 
for  her  children.  As  compared  with  surrounding 
nations,  the  honour  given  to  woman  among  the  Jews 
is  very  remarkable.  Woman  is  down-trodden  by  the 
Arabs  to  this  day. 

"  On  the  father,"  says  the  Talmud,  "  devolves  the 
duty  of  circumcising  his  son,  of  teaching  him  the  Law, 
and  of  instructing  him  in  a  trade." 

As  illustrative  of  the  honour  put  upon  a  child  when 

*  "  These  studies  did  not  amount  to  much.  A  knowledge  of  reading, 
possibly  of  writing,  and  the  power  of  repeating  by  heart  the  most  im- 
portant passages  of  the  Torah."  Stapfer's  Palestine  in  the  Time  of 
Christy  p.  144. 

M  2 


164  THE   CHILD 


he  is  a  boy,  the  author  of  Domestic  Life  in  Palestine 
tells  us  of  a  skilful  carver  in  Bethlehem,  who  was 
indebted  to  H.B.M.  Consul  Rogers  (her  brother)  for 
his  start  in  life  and  the  cultivation  of  his  art.  Miss 
Rogers  was  introduced  to  his  young  wife.  She  asked 
the  young  mother  her  name.  She  answered  "  Miriam 
is  my  name."  But  her  mother  said  "  Not  so,  she  is  no 
longer  Miriam,  but  Um  Yousef  (mother  of  Joseph)  for 
a  son  is  born  unto  her  whose  name  is  Joseph." 

Some  of  the  games  of  Jewish  children  are  known  to 
us,  of  which  we  get  a  glimpse  in  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
Himself.  They  were  fond  of  playing  with  tame  birds. 
(Catullus,  ii.  4  ;  Plautus,  Captiv.,  Act  v.  4,  5). 

"  As  the  head  of  the  household  returned  on  the 
sabbath  eve  from  the  synagogue  to  his  home,  he  found 
it  festively  adorned,  the  sabbath  lamp  brightly  burning, 
and  the  table  spread  with  the  richest  each  household 
could  afford.  But  first  he  blessed  each  child  with  the 
blessing  of  Israel."* 

"  It  is  when  we  consider  the  relations  between  man 
and  wife,  children  and  parents,  the  young  and  the 
aged,  that  the  vast  difference  between  Judaism  and 
heathenism  so  strikingly  appears.  Even  the  relation- 
ship in  which  God  presented  Himself  to  His  people 
as  their  Father,  would  give  peculiar  strength  and 
sacredness  to  the  bond  which  connected  earthly  par- 
ents with  their  offspring."t 

*  Edersheim's  Sketches  of  jfewish  Social  Life  in  the  days  of  Christ, 
p.  97.  f  Ibid.,  p.  98. 


THE  CHILD   OF  CHRISTENDOM.  165 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE  CHILD  OF  CHRISTENDOM. 

After  a  study  of  the  child  of  the  Jewish  Church,  and 
marking  its  advantageous  position  in  the  family  and  in 
the  nation,  as  compared  with  the  offspring  of  heathen 
peoples,  we  may  expect  that,  with  a  fuller  revelation  of 
the  Divine  Fatherhood,  and  all  that  it  implies,  there 
will  be  a  further  development  of  the  parental  apprecia- 
tion and  care  for  the  families  of  Christian  people. 

If  glimpses  of  the  Divine  purity,  beauty  and  sweet- 
ness were  suggested,  though  only  somewhat  obscurely, 
through  the  relation  of  parent  and  child,  in  the  Israel- 
itish  nation,  we  ought  to  have  impressed  upon  us  still 
more  charming  ideas  of  the  attractiveness  of  the  child 
under  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  and  through  Christian 
training.  If  children  were  the  riches  and  glory  of 
social  life  among  the  Israelites,  their  *'  holiness " 
(i  Cor.  vii.  14)  will  surely  light  up  the  home  of  the 
Christian  family  with  still  more  heavenly  brightness. 

The  paling  stars  of  the  Jewish  firmament  are  about 
to  disappear  before  the  effulgence  of  the  Christian  sun 
of  righteousness. 

Postponing  the  consideration  of  the  birth  of  the  holy 
child  Jesus,  and  its  attendant  joy,  for  a  subsequent 
chapter,  we  may  recall  the  glad  emotion  which  stirred 


im  THE   CHILD. 


the  Jewish  breast  on  the  occasion  of  the  Baptist's 
birth.  The  angel  announces  to  Zacharias  :  "  Fear  not, 
Zacharias  ;  because  thy  supplication  is  heard,  and  thy 
wife,  Elizabeth,  shall  bear  thee  a  son,  and  thou  shalt 
call  his  name  John."  We  mark  the  felicitation  of  the 
angel :  *'  Thou  shalt  have  joy  and  gladness,  and  many 
shall  rejoice  at  his  birth."  And  when  to  Elizabeth  the 
babe  was  born,  "  her  neighbours  and  kinsfolk  heard 
that  the  Lord  had  magnified  his  mercy  towards  her, 
and  they  rejoiced  with  her."  Then  follows  the  song  of 
praise  of  Zacharias  (Luke  i.). 

The  Apostle  Paul  recognizes  God's  goodness  as 
much  in  his  first  as  in  his  second  birth  :  '*  He  separ- 
ated me  from  my  mother's  womb,  and  called  me  by 
his  grace." 

What  could  possibly  be  stranger,  with  a  far  fainter 
disclosure  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  in  pre-Christian 
times,  than  for  children,  esteemed  so  great  a  gift,  who 
in  Christian  times  are  discovered  to  be  the  hideous 
little  monsters  the  Church  paints  them  ? 

Of  children  then  we  get  a  joyous  key-note, — a  note 
full  of  good  and  of  hope  for  the  future,  in  the  New 
Testament;  and  above  all  from  the  great  Teacher 
Himself; — a  key-note  to  which  we  may  expect  all  sub- 
sequent teaching  in  the  Christian  Church  to  be  at- 
tuned. 

Let  us  see  what  the  teaching  and  practice  with  re- 
gard to  children  is  from  the  writings  of  the  Fathers, — 
the  Fathers,  to  wit — and  ecclesiastical  practices,  form- 


THE   CHILD  OF  CHRISTENDOM.  167 

ing  or  reflecting  the  general  conception  of  Childhood, 
in  the  Christian  Church. 

Now,  although  Children  find  an  honoured  place  in 
our  Christian  homes,  nothing  can  be  clearer  than  this : 
that  the  theory  of  unbaptized  childhood  is  as  gloomy 
and  as  terrible  a  thing  as  can  well  be  imagined.  So 
far  from  being  up  to  the  level  of  Jewish  conception,  it 
even  sinks  below  the  idea  of  some  of  the  heatlien 
nations,  whose  sweet  appreciation  of  Childhood  has 
been  illustrated  in  preceding  sections  of  this  work. 

As  if  to  enhance  the  glory  of  our  Father  in  heaven, 
it  were  the  most  pious  thing  possible  to  endow  the 
new-born  babe  with  the  attributes  of  the  devil.  As  if 
to  exalt  Him  who  took  little  unbaptized  children  in 
His  arms,  it  could  best  magnify  the  riches  of  His 
grace  to  regard  them  as  little  incarnations  of  evil.  As 
if  to  honour  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  were  the 
justest  conception  that  the  babes  are  naturally  the 
objects  of  divine  wrath  and  displeasure  and  candi- 
dates for  an  eternity  of  torture,  with  perhaps  a  bare 
possibility  of  escape  in  the  uncovenanted  mercies  of 
God. 

Possibly,  the  Christian  Church,  in  its  zeal  for  its 
theological  system,  has  never  thought  that  there  may 
be  parents  living  among  us,  who,  accepting  the  fright- 
fully depreciatory  theory  of  Childhood,  as  taught  by 
the  Churches,  find  sanction  for  the  cruel  treatment  of 
their  offspring,  such  as  the  newspapers  are  almost 
daily  bringing  to  light  in  our  midst :    their  own  abaTi*- 


168  THE   CHILD. 


doned  lives, — ^"with  all  the  sweetness  of  natural  affec- 
tion obliterated  from  their  characters,  looking  very  like 
a  living  testimony  to  the  Church's  doctrine  of  incar- 
nate evil.  This  is  the  compliment  we  pay  to  our  chil- 
dren !  We  drag  these  fresh,  sparkling  embodiments 
of  new  life  down  to  our  own  level  of  deadness.  On  the 
canvas  of  childhood,  after  conflicts  and  often  defeats 
with  the  powers  of  evil,  we  project  our  own  mired 
humanity,  besmirched  with  the  defilements  of  sin  and 
corruption,  and  take  the  children  to  the  font  to  be 
washed  !  And  thus  the  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes 
and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge  (Jer.  xxxi.  29). 
No  wonder  while  "  the  young  men  bare  the  mill,  the 
children  stumbled  under  the  wood  "  !  (Lam.  v.  13). 
A  little  child  brought  up  on  the  doctrine  of  original 
sin, — being  assured  of  a  fault  by  his  father,  shrewdly 
retorted  :  "  Well,  it  was  not  my  fault :  it  was  Adam 
and  Eve's  fault  "  !     Was  not  this  artificial  feeding  ? 

It  is  difficult  to  repress  the  most  scathing  language 
of  denunciation  of  a  system  which  not  merely  obscures, 
but  which  misrepresents  the  Divine  wisdom  and  be- 
nignity, and  which  has  not  seldom  led  a  despairing 
mother  to  destroy  her  child. 

What  has  the  Christian  Church,  in  almost  every 
section,  maintained,  as  to  the  nature  and  the  destiny 
of  little  children, — even  of  babes  ?  The  fact  is  too 
well  known.  Let  us  take  a  glance  at  the  early  testi- 
mony of  the  great  leaders  in  Christian  Theology  and 
practice,  touching  Infancy,  as  brought  under  notice  by 


THE   CHILD  OF  CHRISTENDOM.  169 

Tracts  for  the  Times — the  outcome  and  stimulus  of  the 
'*  catholic  revival  "  during  the  last  half  century. 

Tract  Ixvii.,  Ad  Clerum.  "Our  life  is,  throughout, 
represented  as  commencing,  v^^hen  w^e  are  by  baptism 
made  members  of  Christ  and  children  of  God :  that 
life  may,  through  our  negligence,  afterwards  decay,  or 
be  choked,  or  smothered,  or  w^ell-nigh  extinguished, 
and  by  God's  mercy  be  again  renewed  and  refreshed, 
but  a  commencement  of  spiritual  life  after  Baptism,  a 
death  unto  sin  and  a  new  birth  unto  righteousness,  at 
any  other  period  than  that  one  first  introduction  into 
God's  covenant,  is  as  little  consonant  with  the  general 
representations  of  Holy  Scripture,  as  a  commencement 
of  physical  life  long  after  our  natural  birth  is  with  the 
order  of  His  holy  providence." 

*'  One  may,  indeed,  rightly  infer  that,  since  the  Jews 
regarded  the  baptised  proselyte  as  a  new-born  child, 
our  Saviour  would  not  have  connected  the  mention  of 
water  with  the  new  birth,  unless  the  new  birth  which 
He  bestowed,  had  been  bestowed  through  Baptism : 
but  who  would  so  fetter  down  the  fulness  of  our 
Saviour's  promises,  as  that  His  words  should  mean 
nothing  more  than  they  would  in  the  mouth  of  the 
dry  and  unspiritual  Jewish  legalists  ?  or  because  they, 
proud  of  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  deemed  that  the 
passing  of  a  proselyte  into  the  outward  covenant  with 
Abraham,  was  a  new  custom,  who  would  infer  that  our 
Saviour  only  spoke  of  an  outward  change  ?  Even  some 
among  the  Jews  had  higher  notions,  and  believed  that 


170  THE    CHILD. 


a  new  soul  descended  from  the  region  of  spirits,  upon 
the  admitted  proselyte." 

The  writer  afterwards  quotes  the  testimony  of  St. 
Augustine  in  the  same  sense. 

"  *  Most  excellently,'  saith  he,  writing  against  the 
Pelagians  *  do  the  Punic  Christians  entitle  Baptism 
itself  no  other  than  salvation,  and  the  sacrament  of  the 
body  of  Christ  no  other  than  life.'  "* 

"  Baptism  is  not  a  mere  initiatory  rite,  but  an  ap- 
pointed means  for  conveying  the  Holy  Spirit. "t 

Alluding  to  the  Apostle  Paul's  conversion,  the  same 
writer  says  :  "  By  baptism  he  was  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost."  Not  pardoned  or  regenerated  till  he  was 
baptized. 

In  a  letter  to  St.  Jerome,  St.  Augustine  writes : 
"  Whoever  should  affirm  that  infants  which  die  with- 
out partaking  of  this  sacrament  shall  be  quickened  in 
Christ,  would  both  go  against  the  Apostle's  preaching 
and  also  would  condemn  the  whole  church  [universam 
ecclesiam) I  do  not  say  that  infants  dying  with- 
out the  baptism  of  Christ  will  be  punished  with  so 
great  pain,  so  that  it  were  better  for  them  not  to  have 
been  born,  since  our  Lord  spoke  this,  not  of  all  sinners 

but  of  the  most  profligate  and  impious  ones There 

is  no  middle  place  where  you  can  put  infants so 

that  when  you  confess  the  infant  will  not  be  in  the 
Kingdom,  you  must  acknowledge  that  he  will  be  in 
everlasting  fire.":|: 

*  Ad  Clerum,  p.  21.  f  Ibid.,  p.  37. 

%  Epist.  77  ad  Hieronem  de  Sancto  Victore,  pp.  300-1. 


THE   CHILD   OF  CHRISTENDOM.  171 

This  somewhat  confused  and  illogical  statement  is 
marvellous  as  an  exposition  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus.* 

Theodoret  is  quoted  with  approval.  "*  Forgive  us  our 
trespasses,'  this  prayer  we  do  not  teach  the  uncon- 
secrated  but  the  consecrated  (baptized)  for  no  uncon- 
secrated  person  can  dare  to  say  *  Our  Father '  not 
having  yet  received  the  gift  of  adoption.  But  he  who 
has  obtained  the  gift  of  Baptism  calls  God  *  Father,' 
as  being  accounted  among  the  sons  of  grace."! 

St.  Gregory  of  Nazianzum :  "  Hast  thou  an  infant  ? 

Let   it   be   sanctified   from   a   babe.     Let    it   be 

hallowed  by  the  Spirit  from  its  tenderest  infancy. 
Fearest  thou  the  seal  of  faith  on  account  of  the  weak- 
ness of  the  nature,  as  a  faint-hearted  mother  and  of 
little  faith  ?  But  Hannah  devoted  Samuel  to  God,  yea 
before  he  was  born,  and  when  he  was  born,  imme- 
diately made  him  a  priest Thou  hast  no  need  of 

amulets,  impart  to  him  the  Trinity^  that  great  and 
excellent  preservative."! 

*  "  This  'washing  of  the  water'  was  now  deemed  absolutely  ne- 
cessary for  salvation.  No  human  being  could  pass  into  the  presence  of 
God  hereafter,  unless  he  had  passed  through  the  waters  of  baptism  here 

The   Pelagian  controversy  drew  out  the  mournful  doctrine,  that 

infants,  dying  before  baptism  ....  were  consigned  to  everlasting  fire. 
At  the  close  of  the  fifth  century  this  belief  had  become  universal,  chiefly 

through   the   means  of  Augustine As    to  the  views  of  individual 

Fathers  from  the  time  of  Augustine  it  seems  impossible  to  dispute  the 
judgment  of  the  great  English  authority  Wall  On  Baptism  :  '  How  hard- 
soever  this  opinion  may  seem,  it  is  the  constant  opinion  of  the 
Ancients.'" — Christian  Institutions^  by  A.  P.  Stanley,  D.D.,  4th  Edit., 
1884. 

*•  Ad  Cleruni,  p.  65.  J  Ibid.,  p.  178. 


172  THE   CHILD. 


St.  Ambrose:  "  In  baptism  there  is  one  thing  done 
visibly  to  the  eye  ;  another  thing  is  wrought  invisibly 
to  the  mind." 

St,  Basil :  In  baptism — "  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
there  set  open." 

Chrysostom :  "  God  Himself  in  baptism,  by  His  in- 
visible power  halloweth  thy  head." 

St.  Gregory  of  Nyssa :  "  Baptism,  then,  is  the  purifi- 
cation of  sins,  remission  of  offences,  the  cause  of 
regeneration  and  renewal." 

That  the  amazing  operation  in  Baptism  should  not 
fail  of  its  efficacy,  all  that  appertains  to  the  observance 
of  the  rite  must  be  minutely  attended  to.  The  water 
must  not  be  ordinary  water  even  though  it  were  double 
distilled. 

Cyprian  tells  us  that  "it  is  proper  the  water  be 
cleansed  and  sanctified  by  the  priest  that  it  may  have 
the  power  in  baptism  to  wash  away  the  sins  of  him 
who  is  baptized." 

And  the  Council  of  Carthage  decrees :  "  The  water 
when  sanctified  by  the  prayer  of  the  priest  washes 
away  sins." 

St.  Ambrose  says:  "The  water  hath  the  grace  of 
Christ ;  in  it  is  the  presence  of  the  Trinity." 

Even  so  early  a  writer  as  Tertullian  says:  "The 
Holy  Ghost  cometh  down  and  halloweth  the  water." 

In  the  present  book  of  Common  Prayer  we  have  an 
authoritative  exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  Baptism. 
Though  so  familiar,  its  importance,  as  bearing  on  the 


THE   CHILD   OF  CHRISTENDOM.  173 

doctrine  of  childhood,  must  excuse  so  lengthy  a  quota, 
tion  from  its  pages. 

**  Dearly  beloved,  forasmuch  as  all  men  are  con- 
ceived and  born  in  sin ;  and  that  our  Saviour  Christ 
saith.  None  can  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God,  except 
he  be  regenerate  and  born  anew  of  Water  and  of  the 
holy  Ghost;"  &c. 

What  our  Lord,  the  founder  of  the  Christian  Church, 
said,  w^as,  not  that  children  were  conceived  and  born  in 
sin,  but  that  except  His  adult  hearers  became  once 
again,  little  children  they  could  not  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  to  which  little  children,  as  such, 
belonged.  To  be  born  again  must  be  of  necessity  to 
become  little  children  again.  How  can  little  children, 
by  any  process  whatever,  become  what  they  are  already  ? 
Baptism  in  their  case  is  simply  an  anachronism.* 

*  It  is  not  forgotten  that  there  is  a  penitential  psalm,  written  pro- 
bably by  David  himself  after  his  guilt  had  been  brought  home  to  him  by 
Nathan  (Ps.  li.)  The  psalm  is  not  a  theological  exposition  of  human 
nature  at  all.  Its  inspiration  comes  from  the  depths  of  a  passionate 
soul,  and  from  an  intense  consciousness  of  startling  personal  moral 
delinquency.  It  is  the  heart-broken  utterance  of  a  mind  prostrate 
before  the  immediate  holiness  with  the  black  shadow  of  guilt  burdening 
the  stricken  conscience.  David  excuses  not  himself,  when,  in  the 
excess  of  his  shame  and  overwhelming  grief,  he  exclaims  :  "  Behold,  I 
was  shapen  in  iniquity  ;  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me."  Much 
less  was  he  deliberately  explaining  the  source  and  history  of  his  crime, 
and  still  less  the  melancholy  genesis  of  sin  in  our  world.  Reason  failed 
him  :  he  had  sinned  against  reason.  Language  failed  him :  words 
could  not  express  the  heinousness  of  his  offence  before  God  :  explana- 
tion of  himself  to   himself  seemed  impossible.     Have  we  not  become 


174  THE  CHILD, 


In  the  first  prayer,  we  are  reminded  of  the  sanc- 
tification  of  water  to  the  mystical  washing  away 
of  sin,  and  the  dehverance  of  the  child  from  God's 
wrath,  the  child — of  whom  Jesus  said  ''  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  "  ! 

And  then,  without  perceiving  the  glaring  contradic- 
tion, the  Gospel  is  read,  the  Gospel  in<  which  these 
very  children  of  God's  wrath  are,  we  find,  models  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  as  such,  are  taken  up  in 
the  arms  of  the  Holy  Jesus  and  blessed. 

Then  comes  a  ministerial  exhortation,  in  which 
(and  before  the  administration  of  the  rite  too !) 
the  child's  innocency  is  declared  and  held  up  for 
imitation. 

This  is  followed  by  an  address  to  the  godfathers  and 
godmothers,   in   which   they   are  reminded   that  they 

painfully  familiar  with  the  exclamation  of  one  who  has  fallen  into  sin, 
"  I  can't  think  how  I  came  to  do  it !  "  And  in  David's  anguish  we  have 
a  mirror  in  which  all  have  seen  themselves  whose  spiritual  sensitiveness 
has  been  deeply  stirred  in  view  of  their  own  grievous  departure  from  the 
perfect  standard  of  divine  holiness.  The  greatest  saints  have  been  the 
most  profoundly  affected  by  "  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin."  There 
is  doubtless  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  the  doctrine  of  hereditary  taint,  and 
it  is  ignored  neither  in  the  Old  nor  New  Testament.  But  a  generaliza- 
tion from  the  fervid  expression  of  a  mind  almost  shattered  with  a  sense 
of  sin,  and  to  accept  as  God's  deliberate  utterance  the  cry  of  human 
weakness  and  remorse,  is  a  remarkable  illustration  of  the  blind  spirit  of 
Theology.  In  this  instance,  as  in  many  other  cases,  the  truth  of  Holy 
Writ  is  verifiable  in  our  own  experience  or  observation.  The  story  is  so 
true !  And  yet  upon  this  Psalm  one  of  the  most  frightful  dogmas  of  the 
Theology  of  the  Christian  Church  mainly  rests. 


THE  CHILD  OF  CHRISTENDOM.  175 

have  been  praying  that  the  young  innocent  child  may 
be  released  from  his  sins,  &c., 

After  the  baptism  the  Priest  shall  say :  "  Seeing 
now,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  this  Child  is  re- 
generate," &c.,  And  then  the  prayer  following:  "We 
yield  Thee  hearty  thanks,  most  merciful  Father,  that 
it  hath  pleased  Thee  to  regenerate  this  Infant,"  &c., 

The  concluding  paragraph  is  also  worthy  of  notice  : 
"  It  is  certain  by  God's  Word,  that  Children  which  are 
baptized,  dying  before  they  commit  actual  sin,  are 
undoubtedly  saved." 

Can  anyone  draw  the  inevitable  conclusion  from  this 
doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England,  without  a  shudder 
of  horror  ? 

The  writer  of  the  Oxford  Tract,  to  which  reference 
has  already  been  made  says,  with  regard  to  the  second 
Prayer  Book  of  Edward  VI.,  "  some  things  were 
omitted,  which,  if  retained,  had  been  a  blessing  to  us ; 
but  all  our  Service  which  remained,  came  from  the 
pure  sources  of  Christian  Antiquity."  What  were 
some  of  these  things  ? — and  as  the  Oxford  movement 
is  still  developing  in  the  English  Church,  is  there  not 
some  hope  in  the  hearts  of  our  priests  of  securing  a 
restoration  of  the  good  things  omitted  in  the  present 
Service  ? 

Then  we  may  yet  see  the  water  exorcised  and  the 
devils  cast  out  of  the  infants.  For  thus  the  priest, 
looking  upon  the  little  child,  was  taught  to  say :  "  I 
command   thee,    unclean    spirit,    in    the   name  of  the 


176  THE   CHILD. 


Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  thou 
come  out,  and  depart  from  these  infants  whom  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  hath  vouchsafed  to  call  to  His  holy 
baptism,  to  be  made  members  of  His  body,  and  of  His 
holy  congregation.  Therefore,  thou  cursed  spirit, 
remember  thy  sentence,  remember  thy  judgment, 
remember  the  day  to  be  at  hand  wherein  thou  shalt 
burn  in  fire  everlasting,  prepared  for  thee  and  thy 
angels.  And  presume  not  hereafter  to  exercise  any 
tyranny  towards  these  infants,  whom  Christ  hath 
bought  with  His  precious  blood,  and  by  this.  His  holy 
baptism,  calleth  to  be  of  His  flock." 

There  is  no  exorcism  in  the  present  baptismal  ser- 
vice, but  the  stipulation  of  the  sponsors  is  that  the 
child  shall  renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works. 

The  consecration  and  exorcism  of  the  water  of 
baptism  formed  an  important  part  of  the  baptismal 
ceremony. 

But  we  have  not  quite  done  with  the  water  yet. 
According  to  our  Tractarian  friend,  "  it  was  believed 
that  the  element  of  water  at  the  creation,  by  the  Spirit 
of  God  moving  upon  it,  received  a  peculiar  and  specific 
virtue,  by  which  it  was  especially  fitted  and  appointed 
to  cleanse  and  sanctify  the  soul." 

But  even  this  does  not  seem  to  have  been  thought 
enough,  for  the  doctrine  of  the  Fathers  is,  that  our 
Lord  submitted  to  baptism,  that  He  might  sanctify 
water  to  the  washing  away  of  sin,  and  impart  to  it  the 
power  of  cleansing  the  soul. 


THE   CHILD   OF  CHRISTENDOM.  177 

But  this  double  sanctification  is  not  enough.  The 
water  must  be  exorcised,  and  then  it  must  be  conse- 
crated, and  we  have  the  prayer;  "  Sanctify  this  water 
to  the  mystical  washing  away  of  sin,'' 

Still  something  more  wonderful  from  the  annals  of 
Church  History.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Basil,  Prosper 
and  Jerome,  and  many  others  maintain  the  presence  of 
Christ's  blood  in  the  water  after  consecration-  With 
as  good  reason  "  it  might  be  affirmed  that  the  conse- 
crated water  is  red  as  it  moves  in  the  blessed  font  of 
immortality.  Why  not  say  with  Isidore,  that  it  is 
really  the  water  that  flowed  from  the  side  of  Christ?"* 

Where  stop  at  absurdities  ?  Why  not  believe  with 
Leo,  the  Pontiff,  that  a  man  after  baptism  is  not  the 
same  as  he  was  before,  but  the  body  being  regenerated 
becomes  the  flesh  of  Him  who  was  crucified  ?t 

We  get  a  reminiscence  of  Leo  in  the  poetry  of  the 
Christian  Year,  but  it  seems  to  be  more  than  poetry  as 
quoted  by  Rev.  Dr.  Pusey. 

"  What  sparkles  in  that  lucid  flood 

Is  water  by  gross  mortals  eyed, 
But  seen  by  faith  'tis  blood 

Out  of  a  dear  friend's  side.  J 

It  is  only  fair  to  the  earliest  writers  on  Christian 
doctrine,    to    remember    that    absolute    silence   about 

*  Vide  Halley  On  the  Sacraments,  p.  221. 

t  Leo,  Sertn.  14,  De  Passtone. 

X  In  answer  to  the  question  '*  What  is  faith  ?  "  to  a  class  of  Sunday 
SchooV  boysi  the  answer  of  a  genius  was  "  Believing  what  isn't  true, 
teacher."  •  ... 

N 


1,78-  THE   CHILD. 


baptismal  regeneration  prevails.  Clement  ;  of  Rome, 
Ignatius,  and  Polycarp  are  sjlent.  No  trace  of  it  can 
be  found  before  Justin  Martyr's  First  Apology,  circa 
A.D.  140  or  150.  As  a  gathering  cloud,  from  that 
date  to  the  time  of  Clement  of  Alexandria  and 
Tertullian,  the  doctrine  began  to  spreg^d  itself  over  the 
Christian  Church. 

The  baptism  of  infants  was  unknown  to  the  apos- 
tolic churches.  In  patristic  times  children  were  only 
recognized  as  God's  children  after  Baptism.  Dug  out 
of  the  quarry  of  humanity,  and  chiselled  by  the  eccle- 
siastical sculptors,  a  little  child  was  henceforth  en- 
dowed with  the  right  to  say,  "  Abba,  Father."  The 
logical  deduction  was  that  none  but  these  could  say 
the  Lord's  prayer  :  nay,  the  catechumens  were  strictly 
forbidden  to  be  present  when  it  was  repeated.  "  From 
that  service,  as  Chrysostom  calls  it,  all  the  unbaptized 
were  most  scrupulously  and  rigorously  excluded."* 

In  the  Baptismal  Service  of  the  English  Church  we 
find  words  from  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark  thrust  into 
the  midst  of  the  service,  which  are  strikingly  opposed 

*  Referring  to  Wordsworth  and  Keble,  Dean  Stanley  writes  :  "  It  is 
instructive  to  observe  that  whilst  the  sentiments  of  the  two  poets  on  the 
natural  attractiveness  of  children  are  identical,  Keble  often  endeavours 
to  force  it  into  a  connection  with  Baptism  which  to  Wordsworth  is 
almost  unknown.  It  is  said  that  Wordsworth,  once  reading  with 
admiration  a  well-known  poem  in  the  Christian  Year,  stumbled  at  the 
opening  line,  '  Where  is  it  mothers  learn  their  love  ? '  (to  which  the 
answer  is  '  The  Font').  '  No,  no,'  said  the  old  poet, '  it  is  from  their  own 
maternal  hearts.'  "  Christian  Institutions,  1884,  p.  32. 


THE   CHILD   OF  CHRISTENDOM.  179 

to  the  Church  doctrine  in  which  they  are  imbedded, 
and  which  are  there  as  a  standing  protest  against  the 
whole  proceeding. 

"  The  Sacramental  principle  had  been  most  plainly 
adopted  by  our  Lord ;  the  spiritual  forces  with  which 
He  would  renew  the  face  of  the  earth,  were  to  be  ex-- 
cited  through  material  instruments ;  and  He  Himself 
had  secured  the  principle  from  uncertainty  or  vagueness 
oi*  individualism  in  its  expression  by  appointing,  with 
the  utmost  weight  and  penetration  of  His  authority, 
the  definite  form  of  two  great  ordinances,  which  were 
to'  begin  to  advance  the  supernatural  life  of  His  mem- 
bers, to  extend  the  range  of  His  church,  and  to  main- 
tain its  unity.  . .  .To  be  living  a  life  received,  nourished 
and  characterised  by  Baptism  and  by  the  Eucharist 
— this  is  the  distinctive  note  of  a  Christian — thus  does 
he  differ  from  other  men.  The  Sacrament  by  which 
he  became  a  member  of  Christ's  body  must  determine 
throughout  the  two  distinctive  qualities  of  his  inner 
life."* 

Why  good  Christian  men  of  the  second,  third, 
fourth  and  fifth  centuries  of  the  Christian  Era,  should 
be  held  responsible  for  the  life,  thought  and  functions 
of  all  Christians  to  the  end  of  time,  seems  more  than 
their  successors  have  any  right  to  impose  upon  them. 
Personal  responsibility  cannot  be  shifted  from  the  in- 
dividual   to    any    number   of    saintly    men,    however 

*  Rev.  F.  Paget,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Pastoral  Theology,  On  the  Sacra- 
ments, p.  420. 

N  2 


160  THE   CHILD. 


comfortable  it  might  be  thought   (as  in  the   case   of 
Cardinal  Newman)  to  be  relieved  of  it. 

Christians  are  waking  up  to  the  fact.  The  truth  is 
that  the  Fathers  had  the  misfortune,  without  knowihg 
it,  to  shift  the  ground  of  the  Christian  life  and  society 
from  its  true  spiritual  basis  to  an  intellectual  founda- 
tion. 

Propositions  led  to  controversy.  That  was  voted  true 
which  majorities  affirmed.  Authority  made  its  demands 
and  anathema  fenced  authority  with  its  fearful  impreca- 
tions. The  subject  of  the  Infinite  was  defined  (!)  in 
the  Trinitarian  formulary  of  Athanasius,  whatever  the 
poor  pretensions  or  disavowals  to  metaphysical  subtlety 
of  objectors  might  be.  There  is  all  the,  difference  be- 
tween love  and  logic !  The  love  of  Christ  constrains 
and  unites.  Logical  propositions  do  not  touch  the 
sentiments  and  affections  of  the  soul.  From  systems 
of .  theology,  multitudes  are  finding  their  way  out  of 
the  rnazes  of  dogma,  to  the  personal  living  Christ. 

We  have  thus  far  confined  our  inquiry  on  the 
subject  of  Infant  Baptism  especially  to  the  Church 
Fathers,  and  their  EngHsh  successors,  the  Oxford 
Tractarians,  of  half  a  century  ago ;  half  a  century  is 
more  than  the  average  of  human  life.  It  might  be 
argued  that  it  is  hardly  fair  to  make  the  Christianity 
of  the  present  day  responsible  for  the  theology  and 
practice  of  former  times.  With  the  progress  of  clearer 
perceptions  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood,  whether  in  the 
Church  or  outside  it,  our  views  concerning  the  nature 


THE    CHILD   OF  CHRISTENDOM.  181 

of  childhood  and  its  relation  to  God  as  revealed  in 
Christ  Jesus  have  been  advanced  by  the  modern  in- 
vestigations of  physiologists,  psychologists,  education- 
ists, and  evolutionists. 

It  is  satisfactory,  so  far  as  the  English  Church  is 
concerned,  to  find  that  the  water,  in  which  a  babe 
is  baptized,  is  pure  enough  without  being  exorcised, 
that  there  is  no  supernatural  impediment  in  actual 
demoniacal  possession  by  evil  spirits  to  the  child's 
baptism. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  is  not  very  clear  on  the 
subject  of  Infant  Baptism,  though  its  Confession  of 
Faith  could  hardly  be  used  to  cover  the  doctrines  and 
practice  of  the  English  Church. 

The  baptism  of  the  Presbyterians  is  "  not  absolutely 
to  regeneration  and  salvation,"  "  nor  are  all  that  are 
baptized  undoubtedly  regenerated."  It  is  required 
that  one  or  both  parents  of  the  child  presented  for 
baptism  be  a  believer. 

"  Grace  is  not  only  offered  but  really  bestowed 
(whether  to  those  of  age  or  infants)  as  that  grace 
belongeth  unto,  according  to  the  counsel  of  God's 
own  will  in  His  appointed  time."  It  thus  appears, 
that,  on  compliance  with  the  conditions  named,  the 
baptized  infant  enjoys  some  privilege,  though  on  the 
occasion  of  the  baptism  the  appointed  time  for  its 
actual  bestowal  may  be  future. 

The  value  of  the  child's  reception  into  "  the  bosom 
of  the  visible  church,"  to  be  taught  to  the  congregation 


182  THE    CHILD. 


must  depend  entirely  upon  the  meaning  attached  to 
the  term — visible  church.  But  in  the  instructions  to 
ministers  as  to  the  subjects  to  be  made  prominent  at 
the  child's  baptism,  they  are  to  understand  that  the 
baptized  child  is  now  entered  into  the  household  of 
faith, 

Sacramentarians  may  find  a  great  deal  of  support  in 
the  Westminster  Confession ;  may  we  not  say  that 
the  Presbyterians  are  not  so  very  distantly  related  to 
them,  after  all  ? 

Thus  we  have  got  in  direct  statement  and  still 
more  by  implication,  an  idea  of  what  childhood  in  the 
Christian  Church  is.  "  Original  sin,"  and  the  possi- 
bility of  "a  double  dose  of  it,"  has  even  found  its  way 
into  the  British  House  of  Commons,  by  the  mouth  of 
the  most  eminent  British  Statesman  of  our  times. 
Baptismal  regeneration  has  been  generally  abandoned 
by  the  Reformed  and  Protestant  Churches,  but  with 
rare  exceptions,  the  child  of  Christendom  has  been 
unreservedly  endowed  by  birth  with  the  repulsive 
features  of  Augustine  whether  we  follow  him  in  the 
Dutch  Presbyterian,  the  Scotch  Presbyterian"^  or  the 
Congregational  schools  of  our  country.  And  in  the 
words  of  "  the  Shorter  Catechism  of  the  Westminster 
Assembly  of  Divines," — "All  mankind,  by  the  fall,  lost 
communion  with  God,  are  under  His  wrath  and  curse, 

*  "  By  the  decree  of  God,  for  the  manifestation  of  His  glory  (!)  some 
men  and  angels  are  predestinated  untcf  everlasting  life  and  others  fore- 
ordained to  everlasting  death."     Vit^yittloxi  Confession  of  Faith.    -    -^ 


THE   CHILD   OF  CHRISTENDOM.  183 

and  so  made  liable  to  all  the  miseries  of  this  life,  to 
death  itself,  and  the  pains  of  hell  for  ever."  Imagina- 
tion may  depict  the  mournful  procession  of  little  child- 
ren !  Mark  their  little  tripping  footsteps,  for  in  their 
ignorance  they  are  as  light-hearted  as  can  be  imagined. 
There  they  go !  little  scape-graces  of  Rome :  enfants 
terribles  of  the  English  Church ;  monstrosities  of  the 
American  Dutch  Reformed  Church  ;*  broods  of  young 
serpents  of  Scotch  Calvinism ;  and  bringing  up  the 
rear — last  and  least — Calvin's  own  non-elect  babes  on 
their  way  to  hell,  where,  according  to  his  measurement, 
they  may  be  found  a  span  long.  But — stop  the  pro- 
cession, for  after  all,  it  is  only  a  tragedy  of  theological 
romance ;  and,  baptism  or  no  baptism,  our  practical 
humanity,  truly  Christian  in  its  moral  strength  and 
tender  affections,  is  full  of  the  most  beautiful  specimens 
of  family  life.  We  may  join  in  the  old  Psalmist's 
exultant  delight :  "  Happy  is  the  man  that  hath  his 
quiver  full  of  them." 

Baxter  shows  how  Presbyterianism  theologizes  :— 
"  None  ought  to  be  baptized  but  those  that  either 
personally  deliver  up  themselves  in  covenant  to  God 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  professing  a  true 
repentance  and  faith,  and  consent  to  the  covenant ;  or 
else  are  thus  delivered  up,  and  dedicated,  and  entered 
into  covenant  in  their  infancy,  by  those  that  being 
Christians  themselves,  have  so  much  interest  in  them 
and  power  of  them,  that  their  act  may  be  esteemed 

♦  "Conceived  and  born  in  sin,  and  therefore  children  of  wrath/-^ 


184  THE  CHILD. 


as  the  infant's  act,  and  legally  imputed  to  them  as  if 
themselves  had  done  it."* 

"  (2- :  Are  any  children  guilty  of  their  parents'  sins  ?  ; 

*M . :  Yes  ;  all  children  are  guilty  of  the  sins  which 
their  parents  committed  before  their  birth,  while  they 
were  in  their  loins.  Not  with  the  same  degree  and 
sort  of  guilt  as  the  parents  are,  but  yet  with  so  much 
as  exposeth  them  io  just  penalties. 

**  Q, :  How  prove  you  that  ?  -. 

"^.:  First  by  the  nature  of  the  case;  for  though 
we  were  not  personally  existent  in  them  when  they 
sinned,  we  were  seminally  existent  in  them,  which  is 
more  than  causally  or  virtually ;  and  it  was  that  semen 
which  was  guilty  in  them,  that  was  after  made  a 
person,  and  so  that  person  must  have  the  same  guilt."t 

In  so  far  as  it  bears  on  the  question  of  heredity  thp 
following  question  and  answer  gives  a  somewhat  hope- 
ful view  of  the  tendency  of  the  evil  virus  to  vanish  frona 
the  race. 

"  Q, :  Why  doth  God  name  only  the  third  and  fourth 
generation  ? 

*M.:  To  show  us,  that  though  He  will  punish  the 
sins  of  His  enemies  on  their  posterity  who  imitate  their 
parents,  yet  He  sets  such  bounds  to  the  execution  of 
His  justice,  as  that  sinners  shall  not  want  encourage- 
ment to  repent  and  hope  for  mercy."]: 

"  It  is  the  will  of  God  that  infants  be  members  of 
the  Christian  church,  of  which  baptism  is  the  entrance. 

*  Baxter's  Works^  vol,  v.,  p,  46.     f  Vol.  xix.,  p.  176,     J  Vol.  xix.,  p.  177. 


THE   CHILD   OF   CHRISTENDOM.  186 

For  there  is  no  proof  that  ever  God  had  a  church  on 
earth  in  any  age,  of  which  infants  were  not  members."* 

"  Q, :  What  the  better  are  infants  for  being  bap- 
tized ? 

**A»:  The  children  of  the  faithful  are  stated  by  it 
in  a  right  to  the  aforesaid  benefits  of  the  covenant,  the 
pardon  of  their  original  sin,  the  love  of  God,  the  inter- 
cession of  Christ,  and  the  help  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
when  they  come  to  age,  and  title  to  the  Kingdom  of 
.Heaven,  if  they  die  before  they  forfeit  it."t  y- 

*  Vol.  xix.,  p.  264,  -  .      f 

t  The  whole  of  the  above  from  Rd.  Baxter's  Works. 


UNIVJERSITY 


186  THE  CHILD. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  VOICE  OF  THE  PROFESSING  CHURCH  THROUGH  ITS 
CHILDREN'S  HYMNS. 

The  child  of  the  Christian  institutions  can  hardly  be 
expected  to  escape  the  influence  of  the  Church's  theo- 
logy in  its  religious  training. 

Through  its  catechisms  it  is  taught  to  say  things  it 
cannot  believe  to  be  true ;  to  confess  to  sins  it  has 
never  committed  ;  and  to  sing  songs  that,  if  realised 
as  fact,  would  crush  its  little  heart. 

And,  awful  though  it  be  to  think  of  mocking  God  in 
forms  of  worship,  it  is  a  comfort  to  believe  that  the 
*'  thoughtless  tongue  "  of  a  child  is  its  salvation  from 
impiety  towards  the  Divine  Father  while  it  is  its  pro- 
tection against  its  own  mieery. 

As  truer  and  more  Christ-like  conceptions  of  the 
great  Father  have  been  adopted  in  recent  times,  by 
nearly  all  the  Christian  communities,  the  grosser, 
harsher,  crueller  representations  of  God  have  receded 
into  the  dark  ages,  and  the  many  charming  hymns  and 
songs  of  modern  writers,  at  once  spiritual  and  poetical, 
have  been  sweetly  attuned  to  the  chords  of  grace  and 
love  struck  by  the  Christ  Himself. 

But  even  in  the  present  day  the  vestiges  of  a  patristic 


CHILDREN'S  HYMNS.  ^  187 

and  mediaeval  theology  float  upon  the  melodies  which 
little  children  are  taught  from  the  cradle  to  sing. 

Episcopalians,  Presbyterians  and  Nonconforming 
bodies  are  forward  in  zwdoctrinating  their  children 
through  the  medium  of  their  "  Divine  songs  "  with  the 
theology  of  their  respective  churches. 

The  Baptism  of  our  English  Church,  as  the  cause  or 
even  as  the  sign  only  of  a  baby's  second  birth,  implies 
a  condition  of  sin  which  is  washed  away  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  baptismal  rite. 

Mrs.  Alexander  stands  deservedly  high  as  a  writer 
of  "hymns  for  children,"  but  the  hymn  on  "Holy 
Baptism "  is  not  such  a  hymn  as  the  Christ  would 
regard  as  a  happy  expression  of  His  mind  touching  the 
unbaptized  little  child  that  He  held,  up  as  a  pattern  to 
the  disciples,  when  He  said,  "  of  such  is  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven." 

Thus  the  children  are  taught  by  Mrs.  Alexander  to 
sing  :— 

♦•  In  the  name  of  God  the  Father, 

Of  the  Son  and  Holy  Ghost, 
He*  baptized  us  then  and  made  us 

Soldiers  in  our  Master's  host." 

Again,  hymn  72  : — - 

'*  We  were  washed  in  holy  water, 
We  were  set  Christ's  Church  within, 

Gifted  with  .His  Holy  Spirit, 
And  forgiven  all  our  sin." 

There   are   other    hymns   by   this   gifted   composer 

.    *  The  priest. 


188  ,'         THE   CHILD. 


through  which  the  same  sacramental  grace  is  trace- 
able. 

Another  child's  hymnal  of  extensive  circulation, 
called  The  Praises  of  jfesus,  a  Hymn  Book  for  Children, 
contains  the  following  : — 

*' The  pure  baptismal  wave 

Hath  washed  its  sin  away  ; 
Unhindered,  it  may  pass  ,   '  r    -- 

To  glad  eternal  day  " 

implying  that  the  little  innocent  but  unbaptized  babe 
is  doomed  to  eternal  night. 

On  the  same  lines  in  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern,  we 
learn  that,  .  •.: 

Within  the  Church's  sacred  fold, 
By  holy  sacrament  enroll'd 

Another  lamb  we  lay  : 
An  heir  before  of  sin  and  shame, 
Now  in  the  Holy  Triune  name 

His  guilt  is  washed  away. 
*  *  *  * 

O  loving  Father,  Thee  we  pray 

Look  on  this  babe  new-born  to-ddy. 

«  «  *  * 

The  following  verses  are  from  the  People's  Hymnal. 

Begotten  at  the  font 

By  God  the  Spirit's  power 
A  gentle  lamb  from  Satan  snatched 

In  childhood's  helpless  hour. 

And  all  the  host  of  heaven 

Rejoice  before  the  Lord, 
To  see  one  child  of  fallen  man, 

A  child  of  God  restored. 


CHILDREN'S  HYMNS.  1B9 

Lord,  to-day,  we  bring  to  Thee, 
With  a  cleansed  and  perfect  soul, 

This,  Thy  little  one  to  be, 
Entered  on  Thy  muster  roll. 

Other  hymns  there  are  which  teach  the  children 
that  there  could  not  be  a  more  wretched  world  to  be 
born  into  than  this.  Its  parents  must  be  vile, — the 
stream  cannot  be  better  than  the  fountain, — and  the 
only  gleam  of  hope  for  the  little  one  comes  from  an 
infinitely  remote  heaven,  to  which  it  may  go  some  day, 
and  the  sooner  the  better. 

"  There  is  a  happy  land 
Far,  far  away." 

Again  Dr.  Watts  puts  into  the  mouths  of  little 
children  to  sing, 

♦'  There  is  a  dreadful  hell, 
And  everlasting  pains, 
Where  sinners  must  with  devils  dwell 
In  darkness,  fire  and  chains. 

Can  such  a  wretch  as  I 
Escape  this  cursed  end  ? 
.  And  may  I  hope  whene'er  I  die 

I  shall  to  heaven  ascend  ? 

Then  will  I  read  and  pray. 
While  I  have  life  and  breath, 
.  Lest  I  should  be  cut  off  to-day 
And  sent  to  eternal  death." 

So  they  are  taught  to  sing,  "  I  want  to  be  an  angel," 
though  they  are  occasionally  reminded  that  the  devil 
has  his  angels  too. 


190^  :  '    THE   CHILD. 


The  result  of  it  all  is  most  depressing  to  the  child's 
tender  spirit,  and  utterly  confusing  to  the  child's 
enquiring  mind. 

A  Nonconformist  minister  has  written  a  Boy's 
Hymn^a  recoil  from  the  angel  type  of  hymn,  which  is 
like  a  breath  of  fresh  air  on  coming  out  of  an  ill-venti- 
lated church.     It  is  headed,  "A  Boy's  Hymn  :  "* 

;  :        I  want  to  live  to  be  a  man 

. .,  -  Both  good  and  useful  all  I  can, 

To  speak  the  truth,  be  just  and  brave, 
My  fellow  men  to  hefp  and  save. 

I  want  to  live  that  I  may  show 
My  love  to  Jesus  here  below  ; 
....  -        .  .  In  human  toil  to  take  my  share 

And  thus  for  angel's  work  prepare. 


The  modern  character  of  Hymn'ody  in  sweetness 
and  purity  and  spiritual  grace  from  a  hard,  theological 
form  of  doctrine,  marks  the  progress  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  towards  the  life  and  action  of  Apostolic 
times. 

The  catechisms  will  stand  or  fall  with  the  creeds 
and  liturgies  of  the  churches. 

*  Rev.  Newman  Hall. 


UNIT  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN.         im 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE   UNIT    OF    THE    KINGDOM    OF    HEAVEN— A    LITTLE 

CHILD. 

"And  they  brought  unto  him  little  children,  that  he  should  touch 
them  :  and  the  disciples  rebuked  them.  But  when  Jesus  saw  it,  he  wais 
moved  with  indignation,  and  said  unto  them,  Suffer  the  little  children 
to  come  unto  me  ;  forbid  them  not :  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  kingdom  of  God 
as  a  little  child,  he  shall  in  no  wise  enter  therein.  And  he  took  them  in 
his  arms,  and  blessed  them,  laying  his  hands  upon  them." — Mark  x/ 
13—16. 

"  And  they  came  to  Capernaum  :  and  when  he  was  in  the  house  he 
asked  them,  What  were  ye  reasoning  in  the  way  ?  But  they  held  their 
peace :  for  they  had  disputed  one  with  another  in  the  way,  who  was  the 
greatest.  And  he  sat  down,  and  called  the  twelve;  and  he  saith  unto 
them,  If  any  man  would  be  first,  he  shall  be  last  of  all,  and  minister  of 
all.  And  he  took  a  little  child,  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them  :  and 
taking  him  in  his  arms,  he  said  unto  them.  Whosoever  shall  receive  one 
of  such  little  children  in  my  name,  receiveth  me :  and  whosoever  re- 
ceiveth  me,  receiveth  not  me,  but  him  that  sent  me." — Mark  ix.  33 — 37. 

How  refreshing  to  escape  from  the  stuffy  schoolroom 
of  a  heartless  Theology,  into  the  free,  inspiring  air  of 
the  presence  of  the  great  Teacher,  under  Heaven's 
blue  sky  and  by  the  side  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee ! 

It  is  quite  true.     Jesus  is  about  to  found  a  Kingdom. 

What  do  men  do  who  propose  to  raise  an  institu- 
tion, to  start  a  company,  to  establish  a  dynasty  ? 


192  '  THE   CHILD. 


According  to  modern  notions,  the  enterprise  must  be 
manned  by  the  most  influential  names  that  can  be 
brought  together;  the  magnetism  of  money  must 
attract,  and  an  influential  ministry  or  directorate  must 
be  formed.  The  widest  possible  foundation  must  be 
laid,  and  the  broader  the  base  the  more  imposing  the 
superstructure. 

What  was  our  Lord's  method  ?  Nobody  would  ever 
guess  it.  It  was  a  method  that  was  never  dreamt  of 
in  anybody's  philosophy.  It  was  the  very  inversion  of 
the  plan  devised  by  the  shrewdest  scheming.  Jesus 
began  not  with  the  philosophical  or  clever  base,  but 
with  the  apex — a  little  child  !  : 

But,  it  may  be  said,  "  No,  Jesus  began  by  calling 
twelve  men, — and  with  these  He  began  the  development 
of  His  Kingdom." 

Granted :  but,  for  all  that,  we  have  in  these  twelve 
men,  the  almost  undefiled  elements  of  childhood ;  and, 
still  more  strikingly  we  have  the  absence  of  those 
qualifications  which  are  considered  absolutely  necessary 
for  the  launching  of  any  merely  human  enterprise. 

I.  The  fishermen  were  poor.  Children  have  no 
money.  They  come  into  the  world  without  pockets. 
Pockets  for  children  are  often  a  retrograde  step. 
Pockets  lead  to  the  discovery  that  all  things  are  not 
theirs.  To  the  veritable  child  Paul  truly  says:  "All 
things  are  yours."  The  covetous  spirit  is  often  born 
and  bred  in  a  child's  pocket.  Only  think  of  cramming 
the  world  into  one's  pocket :  it  is  what  many  are 
continually  attempting. 


UNIT  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN.         198 

2.  The  fishermen  were  not  learned.  Children  know 
nothing.  Their  minds  have  no  preoccupations.  Paul 
was  a  perfect  child  when  he  wrote  :  "I  determined  not 
to  know  anything  among  you,  save  " — 

3.  The  twelve  were  without  position  or  social  impor- 
tance. Children  have  no  idea  of  superior  or  inferior. 
A  baby  prince  and  a  gutter  babe  know  no  distinction. 
They  both  have  mothers,  — that  is  all,  and  quite 
enough  for  them. 

4.  The  twelve  were  unfettered.  They  were  not 
clothed  with  civil  or  ecclesiastical  authority.  They 
were  free  to  forsake  all  and  follow  the  Christ. 

The  most  delightful  time  for  a  little  child  is  when  it 
is  just  stripped  of  its  clothes.  Then  it  luxuriates  in  its 
sense  of  freedom.  How  often  has  vanity  sprung  up  in 
the  heart  of  a  little  girl  when  it  has  been  put  into  a 
smart  frock ! 

Nicodemus  had  so  far  parted  with  the  simple  qualifi- 
cations of  childhood,  that  to  him,  to  be  born  again 
had  become  a  necessity.  And  Nicodemus  was  only  a 
specimen  of  other  masters  in  Israel. 

The  rich  young  man,  whose  conscious  integrity  in 
the  keeping  of  the  law,  gave  him,  as  he  thought,  a 
special  claim  to  the  eternal  life,  forgot  that  he  too 
had  pockets  ;  but  alas,  they  had  become  so  expanded 
that  there  was  no  getting  through  the  only  gate  for 
him,  the  needle's  eye,  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

But  the  twelve :  though  in  some  marked  character- 
istics, like  little  children,  were  found  wanting.     They 

o 


194  THE    CHILD. 


had  not,  by  any  means,  escaped  the  contamination  of 
the  worldly  spirit.  On  the  contrary,  the  obscurity, 
from  which  they  were  emerging,  had  its  devious 
dangers  for  the  childlike  spirit.  Instead  of  self-depre- 
ciation, self-assertive  ambition  and  the  race  for  pre- 
cedence began  to  manifest  themselves.  If  they  had  left 
all  and  followed  their  Lord,  in  the  first  warm  appre- 
ciation of  their  impulsive  natures ;  cold  calculation 
supervened,  and  the  question — What  shall  we  get  by 
it  ? — expressed  the  ambition  and  covetousness  which 
are  not  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

The  question  was  put  to  the  Master.  Did  the 
mother  of  Zebedee's  children  really  mean  to  steal  a 
march  on  the  claims  of  other  disciples  in  favour  of  her 
two  sons  ?  The  strife  for  the  mastery — the  struggle 
for  priority  formed  a  prominent  feature  in  their  lives. 
How  could  Jesus  cast  out  this  evil  spirit  ?  He  could 
cast  out  devils, — give  sight  to  the  blind, — unstop  deaf 
ears,  and  even  raise  to  life,  with  a  word.  He  could 
still  the  tempest  with  "  a  hush."  But  this  demon  of 
premiership  ? 

Again,  it  may  be  asked  where  is  the  religion  or  the 
philosophy  that  propounds  such  an  antidote  for  this 
poison  ?  This  devil  is  not  to  be  exorcised  by  mira- 
culous interposition.  The  Revealer  has  the  secret. 
Jesus  took  a  little  child  and  set  him  in  the  midst.  An 
object  lesson,  as  profound  as  it  is  simple,  is  enough  for 
a  wise  and  understanding  heart.  Our  Lord  could  find 
nothing  more  fitting,  more  beautiful,  more  attractive, 


UNIT  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HE  A  VEN.  196 


on  this  earth,  than  a  little  child,  as  an  epitome  of 
greatness  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

Argument  seems  superfluous  in  presence  of  so  clear 
an  objective  presentation  of  our  Lord's  conception  of 
children. 

Can  the  contempt  of  the  immediate  disciples  of  Jesus 
for  children  be  the  germ  out  of  v^hich  has  sprung  the 
monstrous  theories  of  the  Christian  Church  ? 

See !  the  mothers  are  bringing  the  children  that  He 
might  touch  them.  The  disciples  are  assuming  the 
function  of  the  police.  But  the  mothers  press  on  with 
the  children.  What  should  be  allowed  to  deter  them  ? 
"  The  benignity  of  His  countenance  invites  us,"  says 
one  tender-hearted  mother.  Another  full  of  the 
motherhood  of  God,  says :  "  He  can't  refuse  us."  A 
third:— "His  simple  touch  has  healing  in  it."  A 
fourth  says,  "  Come  along,  my  boy ;  I  know  there 
must  be  virtue  in  the  hem  of  His  garment."  The 
disciples  may  scowl ;  but  the  mothers  only  see  Jesus. 
But  on  this  occasion  they  are  not  brought  to  Jesus  for 
healing :  there  is  not  one  mother  urged  by  her  anxiety 
that  her  child  might  be  made  whole;  much  less  are 
thsy  seeking  personal  help,  or  some  material  blessing. 
They  are  absorbed  in  their  darling  children.  Of  itself 
this  self-abnegation  on  the  part  of  the  mothers  would 
have  made  way  for  the  children.  They  brought  them 
to  Jesus  that  He  might  simply  give  them  His  bless- 
ing. 

And  Jesus  took  them  up  in  His  arms  and   blessed 

o  2 


im  THE    CHILD. 


them.  The  most  Christian  thing  that  the  Christ 
could  do  ! 

Could  any  mother  of  these  little  ones  have  been  dis- 
appointed that  He  did  not  exorcise  their  offspring,  or 
baptize  them,  or  ask  for  their  godfathers  and  god- 
mothers ? 

Jesus  blessed  them.  He  took  them  up  in  His  arms 
and  pressed  them  to  His  tender  heart.  The  scene  has 
the  beauty  and  fragrance  of  Paradise  about  it.  It  was 
the  outward  and  visible  sign  of  the  atmosphere  and 
bliss  of  heaven,  where  their  angels  do  always  behold 
the  Father's  face. 

"  Women  and  children  "  have  been  in  all  ages 
classed  together  in  a  somewhat  sinister  sense. 
Women,  especially  mothers,  and  children  have 
received  distinguished  honour  from  the  Son  of  man. 
The  depreciation  of  woman  is  a  reproach  which 
modern  Christian  civilization  has  well  nigh  wiped  out. 
And  in  social  life  the  prophecy—"  a  little  child  shall 
lead  them,"  receives  larger  fulfilment. 

"And  Jesus  took  a  little  child  and  set  him  in  the 
midst."  The  little  child  is  still  living,  and  Jesus  is 
still  saying,  "Except  ye  be  converted  and  become  as 
this  little  child  ye  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  He  is  still  saying,  "Now  ye  are  clean  through 
the  word  which  I  have  spoken  unto  you."  He  speaks 
the  word,  and  He  still  points  to  the  illustration.  Has 
this  been  a  word  of  Salvation  to  us  ?  Do  we  believe  in 
the  Christ- and  in  these  sayings  of  His?      And  have- 


UNIT  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HE  A  KEN.  197 


they  been  the  means  of  our  conversion  ?  Has  it  not 
often  rather  been  thought  that  the  child  has  been 
committed  to  our  care,  that  we  might  convert  it? 
What  an  inversion  of  the  spiritual  order  !  You  have 
got  to  change  places  with  the  child— you  greatest  ones 
in  the  kingdom  of  heaven — you  have  to  come  down 
from  your  self-exaltation  that  you  may  find  the  means 
of  your  conversion  in  the  little  child.  See  what  you  can 
get  out  of  the  child,  not  what  you  can  cram  into  it.  And 
do  not  say  this  is  one  of  the  extraordinary,  out-of-the- 
way  lessons  taught  by  Christ  to  His  disciples  under 
peculiar  circumstances.  Except  ye — all  ye  who  want 
to  be  more  than  little  children — be  converted  and  be- 
come as  this  little  child,  there  is  no  way  of  entrance 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  for  you — for  any  of  you — 
for  any  of  us  in  all  the  world  and  in  all  time.  There 
are  only  children  in  heaven. 

With  a  delicate  apprehension  of  child-nature,  Horace 
Bushnell  writes :  "  When  we  preach  to  little  children 
we  are  not  coming  down  to  them,  we  are  rather  com- 
ing up  from  the  subterranean  hells  of  grown-up  sin." 

In  a  speech  by  Edward  White*  he  tells  us  *'  Binney 
said :  '  we  ought  not  to  teach  children  that  they  require 
to  be  converted.'  He  was  fond  of  pointing  out  our 
Lord's  example  when  the  apostles  had  been  quarrel- 
ing, as  apostles  sometimes  will :  *  And  He  took  a  little 
child  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them ; '  and  He  did 
not  say  to  the  child,  *  unless  you  are  converted  and 

*  Independent,  July  15,  1891. 


198  THE   CHILD. 


become  like  these  grown-up  people  you  cannot  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,'  but  He  said  to  the  grown- 
up people,  '  except  you  are  converted  and  become  like 
this  little  child,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.' " 

John  Ruskin  has  a  fine  appreciation  of  childhood. 

He  points  out  four  leading  features : — i.  It  is 
modest.  The  child  does  not  think  it  can  teach  its 
parents,  or  that  it  knows  everything.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  always  asking  questions  and  wanting  to  know 
more.  2.  It  is  faithful.  Perceiving  that  its  father 
knows  best  what  is  good  for  it,  gives  him  its  hand^ 
and  will  walk  blindfold  with  him,  if  he  bids  it.  3.  It 
is  loving.  Give  a  little  love  to  a  child,  and  you  get 
a  great  deal  back.  You  cannot  please  it  so  much 
as  by  giving  it  a  chance  of  being  useful,  in  ever  so 
humble  a  way.  And  because  of  all  these  characters  it 
is  cheerful.  Putting  its  trust  in  its  father,  it  is  careful 
for  nothing — being  full  of  love  to  every  creature,  it  is 
happy  always,  whether  in  its  play  or  its  duty. 

"  Humility,  Faith,  Charity,  and  Cheerfulness.  That's 
what  you've  got  to  be  converted  to.  '  Except  ye  be 
converted  and  become  as  little  children,' "  ye  cannot 
enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

"  Backsliding,  indeed !  I  can  tell  you,  on  the  ways 
most  of  us  go,  the  faster  we  slide  back  the  better.  .  .  . 
Back,  I  tell  you ;  back — out  of  your  long  faces,  and  into 
your  long  clothes.  It  is  among  children  only,  and  as 
children  only,  that  you   will   find    medicine   for   your 


UNIT  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HE  A  VpN.  199 

healing  and  true  wisdom  for  your  teaching.  There  is 
poison  in  the  counsels  of  the  men  of  this  world ;  the 
words  they  speak  are  all  bitterness,  '  the  poison  of 
asps  is  under  their  lips,'  but  'the  sucking  child  shall 
play  by  the  hole  of  the  asp.'  There  is  death  in  the 
looks  of  men.  '  Their  eyes  are  privily  set  against  the 
poor : '  they  are  as  the  uncharmable  serpent,  the 
cockatrice,  which  slew  by  seeing.      But   '  the  weaned 

child  shall  lay  his  hand  on  the   cockatrice'    den' 

There  is  death  in  the  thoughts  of  men  :  the  world  is 
one  wide  riddle  to  them,  darker  and  darker  as  it  draws 
to  a  close ;  but  the  secret  of  it  is  known  to  the  child, 
and  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  is  most  to  be 
thanked  in  that  '  He  has  hidden  these  things  from 
the  wise   and  prudent,   and  has  revealed   them   unto 

babes' it  is  not  out  of  the  mouths  of  the  knitted 

gun, but  *out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  suck- 
lings' that  the  strength  is  ordained,  which  shall  'still 
the  enemy  and  avenger.' " 

A  few  years  ago  the  writer  paid  a  visit  to  a  house 
in  one  of  the  busiest  thoroughfares  in  London,  doomed 
to  come  down  under  the  fiat  of  Metropolitan  Improve- 
ments. It  had  been  occupied  till  recently,  by  a  pro- 
vision merchant,  and  the  shop  on  the  ground  floor, 
stripped  of  everything  but  the  counters,  egg  cases  and 
shelves,  and  some  large  casks,  looked  gloomy  and  deso- 
late. But  a  benevolent  lady  with  warm  sympathies  for 
the  little  waifs  and  strays  of  the  London  streets,  saw 
her  opportunity,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  visit  the 


200  THE   CHILD, 


desolate-looking  shop  had  been  converted  into  a  gar- 
den of  the  Lord,  and  in  this  unexpected  quarter  the 
desert  was  actually  rejoicing  and  blossoming  as  the  rose. 

For  several  successive  Monday  evenings  this  lady 
had  collected  as  many  boys  and  girls  as  liked  to  come. 
The  counters  and  egg-boxes  had  been  converted  into 
seats,  and  every  available  shelf  and  cask  v^ere  occupied 
by  little  ones  from  four  to  fourteen  years  of  age. 

The  singing  was  good  and  even  sweet.  Answers  to 
questions  were  elicited  that  testified  to  the  intelligent 
attention  of  the  children  to  their  teacher's  address 
which  was  anecdotal  and  impressive. 

The  discipline  and  order  were  remarkable.  The 
severest  punishment  consisted  in  temporary  exclusion. 
**  My  dear  boy,"  said  the  lady  to  a  lad  who  was  there 
that  night  for  the  first  time,  "  you  don't  understand 
our  rules.  You  must  go  ;  but  if  you  will  be  good,  you 
may  come  next  Monday;"  and  the  disgraced  boy 
walked  quietly  out  in  shame,  and  one  could  not  but 
perceive  in  sorrow.  Two  other  boys  were  dismissed 
in  this  way  during  the  evening. 

These  children  were  gutter  children,  coming  from 
the  courts  and  alleys  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
of  the  densely  populated  district  of  Seven  Dials. 
Their  faces  looked  clean ;  their  clothes — their  best  and 
worst — would  hardly  have  constituted  a  ticket  of  admis- 
sion to  our  nice  respectable  Sunday  Schools. 

What  struck  the  writer  was  this :  these  children 
were  growing  up  under  the  most  unfavourable  condi- 


UNIT  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HE  A  VEN.  201 

tions,  physical  and  moral.  Pictures  of  their  surround- 
ings have  been  given  by  Mayhew,  Sims  and  others. 
They  need  not  be  described  here.  Could  anything  be 
more  hopelessly  discouraging  ? 

Swept  from  the  streets  into  this  shop,  and  packed 
closely  together,  what  could  be  expected  to  be  got  out 
of  this  mass  of  scum  ? 

And  yet,  looking  at  the  class  of  no  to  120  of  such 
unpromising  children,  crowding  in  eagerly,  behaving  in 
an  orderly  manner,  listening  attentively,  and  falling 
into  sympathy  with  the  teacher  so  readily — evidently 
enjoying  the  whole  thing  as  a  treat,  and  this  after  a 
few  meetings,  only  once  a  week,  what  will  adequately 
and  fairly  explain  the  phenomenon  ? 

To  the  writer's  mind  it  comes  with  all  the  force  of 
demonstration — visible,  actual,  irrefutable — that  below 
the  surface  of  neglect,  in  spite  of  seeds  of  evil  in  their 
early  growth,  *'  good  ground  "  had  been  reached.  In 
these  little  ones  "the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  at  hand," 
and  the  ground  was  being  cleared. 

The  children  were  now,  if  never  before,  treated  in 
harmony  with  the  essential  principles  of  their  nature. 
The  treatment  came  to  them  as  more  truly  natural, 
than  the  life  they  were  living  in  the  gutter.  They 
were  God's  children  and  they  were  beginning  to 
realize  the  fact,  under  the  Christian  tact  of  their 
teacher.  They  were  now  breathing  the  very  air  they 
were  born  to  breathe,  and  we  fancied  they  looked, 
some  of  them,  a  little  surprised  that  they  could  breathe 


202  THE   CHILD. 


it  SO  freely.  The  light — quite  a  surprising  light  in  the 
midst  of  their  darkness — that  now  shone  upon  them, 
was  just  the  light  for  which  their  large,  wondering  eyes 
were  formed.  They  were  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  by 
birth,  and  they  found  themselves  entering  into  the 
enjoyment  of  their  birthright. 

Few  of  them,  probably,  had  grasped  the  idea  of 
fatherhood  through  their  earthly  parent,  and  possibly 
the  divine  Fatherhood  now  being  revealed  to  them 
would  come  upon  them  with  all  the  strangeness  of  a 
surprise.  But  each  boy  and  girl  was  a  child,  and  the 
Father  is  the  complement  of  the  child.  The  children 
found  themselves  at  home  in  this  old  shop. 

Our  blessed  Lord  was  ever  true  to  the  child — the 
type  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  after  the  resur- 
rection He  saluted  His  disciples  as  children. 

Manifesting  Himself  to  them  at  the  lake  of  Tiberias, 
at  the  break  of  day,  Jesus  stood  on  the  beach,  and 
called  to  the  disciples,  who  had  toiled  all  the  night  and 
caught  nothing.  The  disciple  who  was  of  the  most 
childlike  spirit,  was  the  first  to  identify  the  Master, 
and  he  woke  up  Peter  to  the  fact — "  It  is  the  Lord.'' 
Our  Lord  asked  them,  *'  Children,  have  ye  aught  to 
eat  ?  "  A  very  little  time  had  elapsed  since  the  child- 
lesson  had  been  given  to  them,  and  the  intense  reali- 
zation of  fhe  presence  of  their  Lord  must  have 
dissipated  from  their  hearts  the  petty  ambitions  which 
had  disturbed  their  peace. 

The   Apostle,  who  called    himself   "  less    than    the 


UNIT  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HE  A  VEN.  203 

least,"  frequently  alludes  to  childhood  as  carrying  with 
it  special  advantages.  ("  Children  and  heirs/'  Rom. 
viii.  17).  And  in  exhorting  the  Ephesian  Christians: 
"  Be  ye  therefore  followers  of  God,  as  dear  children  ;  " 
Eph.  V.  i;  "Walk  as  children  of  light :  "  Eph.  v.  8. 

Peter  exhorts — "as  children  of  obedience,  not 
fashioning  yourselves  according  to  your  former  lusts  in 
the  time  of  your  ignorance ;  "  and  he  prefaces  the 
exhortation  with  "  be  sober,  and  set  your  hope 
perfectly  on  the  grace  that  is  being  brought  unto  you 
at  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ;"  suggesting  emphati- 
cally that  the  revelation  of  the  Son,  is  the  hope  and 
blessedness  of  true  childhood. 

And  John,  of  the  child-spirit  especially,  in  tender 
sympathy  writes:  "my  little  children;"  "ye  are  of 
God,  little  children ;  "  and  declares  that  he  has  "  no 
greater  joy  than  to  see  his  children  walking  in  the 
truth." 

Thus  was  the  type  of  the  Master  perpetuated,  and 
illustrated  in  the  writings  of  His  followers. 

An  allusion  is  all  that  is  here  necessary  to  the  holy 
child  Jesus.  He  was  the  perfect  and  beloved  Son  of 
God — the  first-born  of  every  creature.  Every  lesson 
He  taught  was  exemplified  in  His  own  true  life.  There 
is  no  need  to  draw  upon  the  apocryphal  stories  which 
tradition  records.  All  that  He  claimed  as  essential  to  a 
child,  characterised  His  own  conduct ;  and  it  is  only  as 
we  grow  up  with  Him  in  all  things,  that  the  true 
image  of  a  little  child  reveals  itself. 


^04  THE   CHILD. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE   CHILD   AS   PORTRAYED   BY  JESUS. 
**  Of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 

Church  dogmas,  as  we  have  seen,  in  theory  and 
practice,  could  not  present  to  our  Lord  a  child  that 
should  at  all  answer  the  Master's  description,  or 
serve  as  the  specimen  to  be  held  up  as  representative 
of  His  Kingdom  before  His  disciples. 

But  our  Lord  did  not  wait  until  the  churches  had 
decided  the  question  of  childhood  many  centuries 
after  He  had  left  the  earth.  He  could  trust  the 
children  with  the  evidence  they  bore  in  their  con- 
stitution as  to  their  nature  ;  and  whether  before  or 
subsequently  to  baptism,  they  were  of  His  Kingdom 
just  the  same. 

Let  us  carefully  recall  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  as  de- 
fined by  the  great  Teacher.  It  is  not  meat  and  drink, 
but  righteousness  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Spirit. 
It  is  spiritual  in  its  righteous  peace  and  joy.  It  is  not 
an  institution  at  all,  it  is  a  condition  of  heart,  and 
soul,  and  life.  Its  essential  characteristics  are  love, 
faith,  hope,  as  described  by  St.  Paul  in  i  Cor.  xiii. 

These  are  not  the  qualities  which  were  displayed  by 


THE   CHILD  AS  PORTRAYED  BY  JESUS.         205- 

the  disciples  when  they  held  a  council  on  the  road, 
without  waiting  to  vote  anyone  to  the  chair ;  not 
much  of  the  righteousness,  or  joy,  or  peace  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  did  they  manifest.  Faith,  hope, 
charity — these  three — were  simply  inverted  and  con- 
centrated on  self  and  not  on  their  Master.  They 
were  near  Him,  but  just  then  a  long  way  from  the 
kingdom  in  which  they  were  clamouring  to  be  pre- 
eminent. 

The  little  child  Jesus  took  up  was  not  only  much 
nearer,  but  was  actually  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
itself. 

We  must  leave  the  theologians  to  settle  their  differ- 
ence with  the  Friend  of  the  children,  and  proceed  to 
enquire  how  are  little  children  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  ? 

All  will  agree  with  the  writer  that  faith,  hope,  and 
love  are  essential  attributes  of  the  Christian.  Why 
should  we  not  agree  that  these  qualities  inhere  in 
every  child  that  is  born  in  a  healthy  condition  ?  These 
qualities  incipiently  characterize  every  babe  that  is 
born  into  our  world. 

A  natural  mother  loves  her  babe — the  babe  in- 
stinctively loves  the  mother.  The  babe  trusts  the 
parent,  as  the  natural  father  challenges  the  confidence 
of  the  child.  And  hope,  springing  perennial  in  the 
human  breast,  is  inspired  by  the  mutual  love  and  faith 
of  both  parent  and  child. 

Developing  intelligence  under  human,  kindly  influ- 


^206  THE    CHILD. 


ences,  will  tend  to  expand  and  strengthen  these  beau- 
tiful, divine  attributes,  and  the  child  will  grow  in 
favour  with  God  and  man. 

Unfortunately  the  Christian  church  almost  univers- 
ally, has  philosophised  on  these  essential  facts  of  life, 
till  these  charming  qualities  of  our  true  humanity  are 
dissected  with  the  theological  knife,  hung  up  on 
Church  Articles,  and  the  child  is  passed  through  the 
mysterious  processes  which  result  in  its  being  some- 
thing less  than  when  it  came  fresh  from  Heaven. 

Is  there  any  truer,  better,  more  real  sense  in  which 
children  can  be  held  up  to  men— to  disciples  even — 
as  samples  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  ?  How,  indeed, 
are  our  Lord's  words  to  be  held  in  any  way  as  true, 
besides  this  ? 

That  they  are  true,  we  can  at  any  time  verify  for 
ourselves. 

Take  a  little  child,  and  take  a  man  who  has  had 
some  experience  of  human  life.  Cannot  you  feel  sure 
at  once  of  the  vocal  response  of  a  little  child  to  your 
sympathetic  approach  to  it  ?  The  child  has  an  openness 
which  expresses  its  faith — is  pleased  as  you  touch  its 
affection,  and  as  the  wonder  of  hopeful  expectation  is 
awakened. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  man  of  experience  knows 
enough  to  be  hesitant,  doubting,  uncertain — even  sus- 
picious;  he  will  not  wear  his  heart  upon  his  sleeve 
before  his  fellow  men.  It  cannot  be  helped  in  this 
social  imperfect  evil  state.     But  who  does  not  envy 


THE  CHILD  AS  PORTRAYED  BY  JESUS.         207 

the  little  one  who  is,  as  yet,  uncorrupted  by  the  world, 
and  needs  no  regeneration? 

We  take  for  consideration  these  three  divine  virtues. 
They  are  attributes  of  a  human  soul  as  yet  uncorrupted 
by  bad  education  or  example. 

We  take  them  as  St.  Paul  took  them.  No  Bible 
reader  is  more  familiar  with  any  passage  in  the  Book 
than  that  portion  of  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
in  which  he  discourses  on  the  nature  and  action  of 
love.  He  discusses  "  charity  "  as  what  it  is  or  what  it 
is  not,  and  as  it  comports  itself  under  every  variety  of 
circumstance.  It  is  not  a  theological  essay,  but  an 
analysis  of  the  most  beautiful  phenomenon  in  the 
universe — in  its  highest,  purest  and  sweetest  form. 

It  comes  from  the  heart  of  God  ;  it  was  embodied  in 
Christ  Jesus ;  and  it  never  faileth,  as  it  comes  to  us  in 
a  little  child. 

Again,  we  have  faith,  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  treated  in  the  same  philoso- 
phical spirit.  But  instead  of  being  analyzed  as  love  is, 
by  St.  Paul  in  i  Cor.,  we  have  it  illustrated  in  human 
life  and  character.  The  principle  of  faith  is  the  same 
whether  we  detect  it  in  Rahab  and  Samson,  or  in 
St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter. 

Both  love  and  faith  are  brought  under  our  notice  by 
these  writers,  quite  apart  from  any  theological  system, 
whether  of  High  Church,  Broad  Church,  or  Low 
Church,  or  no  church  at  all.  These  are  essential  to 
the  humanity  of  which  Jesus  is  the  head.* 

*  "  The  head  of  every  man  is  Christ." — i  Cor.  xi.  3. 


208  THE   CHILD. 


And  these  qualities  of  the  soul,  apart  from  educa- 
tional influences,  are  to  be  found  as  Jesus  found  them 
— in  little  children  ;  and  it  is  simply  on  this  broad 
ground  that  children  are  claimed  by  Jesus  as  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 


CONCLUSION.  209> 


CHAPTER  XI. 

CONCLUSION. 

That  the  child  is  essentially  the  same  in  all  ages,  is  an 
affirmation  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  analogy  of 
nature.  The  ascent  and  song  of  the  lark  under  the 
canopy  of  heaven  is  the  same  now  as  it  has  ever  been. 

Man  is  the  only  animal  that  can  live  under  every 
variety  of  climate ;  and  although  his  nature  may 
undergo  modifications  due  to  climatic  variation  and 
mode  of  existence,  he  is  essentially  the  same  in  the 
constitution  of  his  nature. 

He  develops  according  to  the  Civilization  in  which 
he  is  reared,  but  the  broad  outlines  of  his  nature 
remain. 

The  colour  of  his  skin  may  suggest  his  geographical 
relations.  His  dress  may  tell  of  his  political  and  social 
surroundings.  His  occupations  and  habits  may  indi- 
cate his  mental  calibre  and  his  means  of  living.  But 
notwithstanding  all  the  circumstances  of  his  being,  the 
unity  of  man,  as  man,  is  the  same. 

What  that  unity  is  it  has  been  the  object  of  the 
foregoing  pages  to  illustrate  and  maintain. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  varieties  due  to  the  influences 
by  which  childhood  is  surrounded  can  hardly  be  de- 

p 


^10  THE   CHILD. 


fined,  such  is  the  wide  range  of  training — from  simple 
barbarism  to  wisest  culture,  but  whatever  the  strange 
extremes  under  which  the  human  being  is  developed, 
the  essential  attributes  of  humanity  remain. 

The  savage  may  fatten  the  baby  for  a  honne  bouche  ; 
the  slave-holder  may  protect  it  and  hold  it  as  a  bit  of 
useful  property  ;  the  infanticide  may  get  rid  of  it  as  an 
encumbering  nuisance  ;  the  priest  may  exorcise  it  as  the 
abode  of  devils,  and  cleanse  it  in  the  baptismal  font ; 
but  if  the  conviction  is,  by  the  perusal  of  these  pages, 
fortified,  that  the  child  is  what  the  Great  Teacher 
claimed  for  it — the  child  as  such — the  child  essentially 
— the  object  of  the  writer  is  attained. 

The  child  as  such  is  capable  of  possessing  and 
expressing  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  Of  all  human  beings 
on  this  earth  a  child  is  most  closely  allied  to  the  Christ 
in  the  most  essential  attributes  of  the  nature  of  Christ 
— Trust,  Hope  and  Love. 

How  soon,  alas,  in  the  little  child  are  distrust, 
doubt,  and  suspicion  engendered  by  the  injudicious, 
often  wicked  conduct  of  those  who  have  control  over  it! 

How  early  are'  its  springs  of  happy  hopefulness 
polluted,  and  sometimes  dried  up,  by  the  hopeless 
wretches  who  grudge  the  little  ones  the  innocent  pros- 
pects of  joy  and  mirth  inviting  them  to  larger  life. 

And  how  the  unfolding  affection  of  childhood  to 
sweet  and  kindly  parental  love,  and  even  to  all 
sympathetic  tenderness,  is  frozen  by  the  cold  blast  of 
hatred  or  indifference  of  self-enclosed  hearts. 


CONCLUSION.  .  211 


The  age  in  which  we  Hve  has  given  us  a  theology  of 
childhood  which  presents  a  gratifying  contrast  to  the 
theology  of  the  dark  ages. 

The  Christian  ideal,  through  the  Hymnology  of  our 
modern  Sunday  Schools,  is  happily  realized,  not  only 
in  its  better  sentiment  and  truer  poetry,  but  even  more 
remarkably  by  the  exclusion  of  hymns  which  make 
children  little  devils,  only  fit  for  a  world  of  devils. 

The  clouds  of  demoniacal  darkness  which  had  ob- 
scured, and  sometimes  obliterated  the  Eternal  Father 
from  the  horizon  of  childhood,  have  largely  been  swept 
away,  and  a  little  child  can  now  behold  the  divine 
glory  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ. 

So  far  from  overdrawing  the  picture  of  the  loving 
Son  of  God  the  attempt  has  been  quite  inadequate. 
But  let  it  be  realized  in  a  small  degree  that  Jesus  is 
what  He  proclaimed  Himself  to  be,  and  the  greatest 
stimulus  will  be  given  to  parents  and  all  who  have  the 
management  of  children,  to  value  them  as  they  have 
never  done  before. 

We  see  our  Lord  in  the  hungry  and  thirsty,  in  the 
sick  and  in  prison — let  us  not  fail  to  see  Him  in  the 
little  child. 

The  great  question  discussed  in  these  pages  is  most 
practical.  As  is  the  conception  formed  of  the  nature 
of  the  child  so  will  be  the  method  adopted  in  its  reli- 
gious education. 

If  childhood  be  explained  by  the  doctrine  on  which 
John  Wesley's  dictum  is  founded  : — 

p  2 


212  THE   CHILD. 


"  As  a  rule  children  ought  never  to  play," 

or  on  Augustus  Toplady's  definition  : — 

"  Bubbling  fountains  of  iniquity," 

the  education  of  the  child  would  logically  necessitate  a- 
very  different  method  from  that  which  we  now  pursue, 
under  guidance  such  as  that  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,- 
who  says : — 

"  In  dealing  with  children  have  confidence  in  them. — 
Do  not  try  to  corner  a  child  into  a  lie. — I  have  been 
cornered  into  a  good  many  lies. — /  knew  I  was  right,. 
and  I  was  whipped  until  /  confessed  I  was  wrong. 

If  a  child  has  done  something  that  is  wrong,  as  far 
as  possible  avoid  bringing  an  issue  by  which  the  fear  of 
the  frown  or  the  whip  shall  make  him  dodge  into  de- 
ception, and  try  to  hide.  That  is  characteristic  of  the 
animal  nature— that  is  what  the  fox  and  hare  do,  and 
that  is  what  the  child  does  under  such  circumstances. 

Take  care  of  your  tenderness.  The  child  may  be 
driven  into  a  sin  by  you ;  whereas  by  kindness  and 
gentleness  you  can  lift  him  over  the  hard  spot,  and 
set  him  down  intact  on  the  other  side." 

The  following  wise  words  from  P.  T.  Forsyth  are  to 
the  point : — 

"  We  have  more  faith  than  we  used  to  have  in 
education.  The  natural  man  may  he  Christianised  by 
a  conversion  of  some  violence ;  but  the  natural  child, 
if  you  would  only  begin  in  time,  and  respect  its  natural-- 
ness,  is  Christianised  by  education. 


CONCLUSION.  213 


"  Except  ye  be  converted  and  become  as  little  child- 
ren &c." — The  man  is  converted  to  the  child,  but  the 
<:hild  is  educated  to  the  '  man  in  Christ  Jesus.'  " 

That  the  divine-human  view  of  childhood  is  the 
true  one,  is  strikingly  corroborated  in  the  remarkable 
practical  unanimity  with  which  men  of  all  shades  of 
opinion  express  themselves,  outside  their  ecclesiastical 
and  theological  definitions  and  limitations.  Cardinal 
Manning  writes  :  "  The  holiness  of  children  is  the  very 
type  of  saintliness ;  and  the  most  perfect  conversion 
is  but  a  hard  and  distant  return  to  the  holiness  of  a 
•child."* 

If  the  Venerable  Bishop  who  wrote  the  following  put 
his  thought  about  children  into  practice,  one  might 
put  the  training  of  his  offspring  into  the  Bishop's  care 
with  considerable  satisfaction,  regardless  of  his  theo- 
logical commitments :  "  No  man  can  tell  but  he  who 
loves  his  children,  how  many  delicious  accents  make  a 
man's  heart  dance  in  the  pretty  conversations  of  these 
dear  pledges ;  their  childishness,  .their  stammering, 
their  little  angers,  their  innocence,  their  imperfections, 
their  necessities  are  so  many  little  emanations  of  joy 
and  comfort  to  him  that  delights  in  their  persons  and 
society." 

If  the  child  is  much  indebted  to  those  who  discharge 
their  responsibilities  to  it,  there  is  a  very  large  ac- 
count per  contra,  due  to  the  child.  This  is  briefly  and 
well  put  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Binney : 

*  Towards  Evening.     Kegan  Paul  &  Co.,  i88g. 


214  THE   CHILD. 


"  Every  infant  comes  into  this  world  like  a  delegated 
prophet,  the  harbinger  and  herald  of  good  tidings, 
whose  office  it  is  to  draw  *the  disobedient  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  just.'  Infants  recall  us  from  much  that 
engenders  and  encourages  selfishness,  that  freezes  the 
affections,  roughens  the  manners,  and  indurates  the 
heart ;  they  brighten  the  house,  deepen  love,  invigorate 
exertion,  infuse  courage,  and  vivify  and  sustain  the 
charities  of  life." 

Among  the  practical  considerations  arising  out  of 
this  subject,  especially  in  the  present  day  of  forced 
marches,  of  cramming,  of  prodigies,  of  spectacled  boys 
and  girls,  and  spinal  affections,  are  the  over-working 
and  over-developing  whips  of  tutors  and  examina- 
tions. 

The  Hon.  Miss  Murray  in  her  Notes  on  Education, 
writes :  "  It  once  happened  that  an  anxious  mother 
asked  Mrs.  Barbauld  at  what  age  she  should  begin  to 
teach  her  child  to  read  ?  *  I  should  much  prefer  that 
a  child  should  not  be  able  to  read  before  five  years  of 
age,' was  the  reply. — 'Why  then  have  you  written  books 
for  children  of  three  ?'  '  Because,  if  young  mammas 
will  be  over-busy,  they  had  better  teach  in  a  good  way 
than  a  bad  one.' — I  have  known  clever  precocious 
children  at  three  years  dunces  at  twelve, — and  dunces 
at  six  particularly  clever  at  sixteen  ! — One  of  the  most 
popular  authoresses  of  the  present  day  could  not  read 
when  she  was  seven.  Her  mother  was  rather  uncom- 
fortable about  it,  but  said,  that  as  everybody  did  learn 


CONCLUSION.  215 


to  read  with  opportunity,  she  supposed  that  her  child 
would  do  so  at  last.  By  eighteen  this  apparently  slow 
genius  paid  the  heavy  but  inevitable  debts  of  her  father 
from  the  profits  of  her  first  work  and  before  long  had 
pubHshed  thirty  volumes." 

What  would  L.  E.  Landon  say  to  the  forcing  pro- 
cesses of  modern  education,  who  wrote  years  ago  of 
the  children  ? 

How  much  they  suffer  from  our  faults, — 

How  much  from  our  mistakes, — 
How  often,  too,  "  misguided  zeal " 

An  infant's  misery  makes. 
We  over-rule,  and  over-teach, — 

We  curb  and  we  confine, — 
And  put  the  heart  to  school  too  soon 

To  learn  our  narrow  line. 
No  ;  only  taught  by  love  to  love, 

Seems  Childhood's  natural  task; — 
Affection,  gentleness  and  love. 

Are  all  its  brief  years  ask. 

It  cannot  be  too  intensely  realized,  or  too  urgently 
enforced,  that  a  little  infant  will  never  be,  except  when 
abnormally  excited,  more  delicately  sensitive  than  in 
its  early  stages  of  life.  It  is  true  of  the  organs  of 
special  sense.  It  is  true  of  the  brain,  and  of  the 
formation  of  ideas.  It  is  not  less  true  of  the  emotions. 
And,  above  all,  it  is  true  of  its  spiritual  faculty.  Tom 
Hood  recalls  the  fact,  in  his  really  delicate  little  poem, 
"  I  remember,  I  remember,"  which  ends  with  the 
pathetic  lines : 


216  THE  CHILD. 


•'  It  was  a  childish  ignorance, 

But  now  'tis  little  joy 
To  know  I'm  farther  oif  from  heav'n 

Than  when  I  was  a  boy." 

We  may  be  thankful  that  the  evolution  proceeds  at 
a  diminishing  and  not  an  increasing  ratio,  for  only  thus 
it  is  that  earliest  impressions  are  not  only  profoundest 
but  most  enduring. 

"For  the  child,"  Richter  remarks,  "the  most  im- 
portant era  in  life  is  that  of  childhood,  when  he  begins 
to  colour  and  mould  himself  by  companionship  with 
others.  Every  new  educator  effects  less  than  his  pre- 
decessor, until  at  last  we  regard  all  life  as  an  educa- 
tional institution.  A  circumnavigator  of  the  world  is 
less  influenced  by  all  the  nations  he  has  seen  than  by 
his  nurse." 

In  the  progress  of  the  infant's  development,  the 
lower  part  of  its  being  takes  precedence  of  the  higher. 
Its  physical  wants  claim  immediate  attention.  The 
child  readily  yields  to  the  more  imperative  objective 
stimuli :  as  light  to  the  eye,  air  to  the  lungs,  food  to 
the  stomach,  &c.  But  though  its  higher  faculties  are 
not  so  quickly  developed,  the  most  permanent  effects 
are  produced  on  the  soul ;  and  the  strongest  forma- 
tive forces  are  those  which  touch  its  sentiments  and 
awaken  its  affections.  For  the  child,  not  less  than  the 
man,  "  does  not  live  by  bread  alone."  And  as  it 
advances  in  healthy  development,  what  happens  ?  The 
lower  nature   at   length  becomes    subordinate   to   the 


CONCLUSION.  ^  217 


higher,  and  the  body  comes  to  be  regarded  and  treated 
as  the  humble  servant  of  the  soul. 

But  now,  gentle  reader,  while  we  are  contemplating 
the  little  child,  we  may  ask  where  is  God  most  truly 
seen  ? 

You  say  He  is  seen  as  He  rides  upon  the  storm  ; — 
as  He  flies  on  the  wings  of  the  wind.  I  say  He  is 
perceived  in  the  still,  small  voice.  Do  you  see  Him 
in  the  midnight  glory  of  the  starry  heavens  ?  I  see 
Him  more  in  the  tender  twinkle  of  a  little  child's  eye. 
Do  you  trace  His  voice  in  the  majestic  roll  of  the 
thunder,  as  it  reverberates  from  cloud  to  cloud  ?  I 
hear  His  utterance,  not  distant  but  as  a  whisper  in  my 
ear,  in  the  loving  tones  of  a  tender  mother.  Does  the 
manifestation  of  His  mighty  mind  impress  you  in  the 
scathing  flash  of  lightning  ?  I  think  it  is  infinitely 
nearer  to  me  in  the  flash  of  wit  which  sometimes  may 
be  seen  darting  out  of  the  clouds  of  ignorance  of 
the  humble  peasant.  The  lightning  may  shatter  the 
nerves.  The  earthquake  may  shake  the  clay  taber- 
nacle. But  God  is  not  in  the  earthquake.  He  is  not 
in  the  thunder,  to  the  highest  part  of  our  being  He 
never  can  be.  The  soul  has  no  eye  for  physical  light- 
ning,— no  sense  for  earthquakes, — no  ear  for  thunder, 
but  is  most  susceptible  to  appeals  to  conscience, — to 
its  affections— to  its  mind. 

The  subject  which  it  was  proposed  to  discuss,  it  is 
hoped  has  not  been  unfairly  treated,  in  view  of  many 
accepted  theories  of  human  nature  and  misconceptions 


218  THE   CHILD. 


of  the  Wise   Creator   of  our  species,   and   the    Holy 
Redeemer  of  our  race. 

The  education  of  a  child  has  not  been  the  immediate 
purpose  of  the  writer.  Principles  have  been  suggested^ 
which  must  be  based  upon  a  true  conception  of  the 
child's  nature  ;  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that  a  just 
apprehension  of  the  nature  of  a  child  must  lie  at  the 
foundation  of  any  true  theory  and  any  wise  and  judi- 
cious practice  of  education. 


INDEX. 


AflFection,  63,  95 
Africa,  childhood  in,  132 
Ambrose,  St.,  on  baptism,  172 
Arab  children,  135 
Arnold,  Thomas,  34 
Art,  the  child  of,  153 
Artists,  boy,  67 
Athanasius,  180 
Augustine,  St.,  170 


Baby,  love  of  liberty,  15 

the  new-born,  6 

Bacon,  ig,  35 

Baptism  of  children,  167,  170 
Baptismal  regeneration,  178,  182 
Barbauld,  Mrs.,  on  teaching,  214 
Basil,  St.,  on  baptism,  172 
Baxter,  183 
Bidder,  George,  33 
Binney,  Thomas,  197,  213 
Bushnell,  Horace,  197 


Canova,  67 
Carlyle,  16 
Carthage,  Council  of,  and  baptism, 

172 
Cavendish,  21 
Chalmers,  137 
Character,    discrimination    of   by 

children,  12 
Child,  Mrs.,  12 


Child  and  man  compared,  206 
environment  of  the,  loi 

nature,  spirituality  of,  13 

preachers,  34 

spoiled,  86 

the,  as  portrayed  by  Jesus-,- 

204 
Children  of  Africa,  132 

ancient  Greece,  106 

Arab,  135 

China,  126 

Egypt,  104 

India,  116 

Israel,  159 

Japan,  140 

Madagascar,  148 

New  Guinea,  137 

Persia,  118 

Roman,  114 

Children's  baptism,  167 
dress,  94 

faith,  22,  23,94 

heroism,  49 

hymns,  186 

love,  95 

prayers,  22,  83 

reasoning,  45,  47 

sayings,  10 

trust,  94 

China,  children  of,  126 
Christ  and  His  disciples,  192 

and  the  child,  191,  204 

childhood  of,  203 


220 


THE    CHILD. 


Christ,  gentleness  of,  140 
Christendom,  the  child  of,  165 
Chrysostom,  on  baptism,  172 
Church  and  children's  hymns,  186 
Church,  the,  and  the  child,  165 
Clothes,  15,  193 
Common    Prayer   (Book    of)    and 

doctrine  of  baptism,  172 
Contentment,  20 
Conversion,  ig6,  213 
Cruelty,  79 
Crying,  29 
Cunning,  83 
Curiosity,  35 
Cyprian  on  baptism,  172 

Damien,  Father,  anecdote  of,  23 
Davy,  Sir  Humphrey,  boyhood  of, 

21 
Dennis,  verses  by,  9 
Disciples,    characteristics    of    the, 

192 
Disobedience,  anecdote  of,  24 
Dress,  94 

of  Persian  children,  124 

Drummond,  Henry,  97 
Dulness,  44 


Education  among  the  Jews,  162 

in  Persia,  125 

of  children,  91,  212 

Plato's  views  of,  106 

Egypt,  children  of,  104 
Emotions,  development  of,  98 
Environment,  loi 
Envy,  82 
Evolution,  97 


Faith  in  children,  22,  23,  94 
Faraday,  68 


Ferguson,  James,  68 

Ferrier,  3 

Flaxman,  childhood  of,  32 


Genius,  early  indications  of,   32, 

33 

Gladstone,  anecdote  of  childhood, 
21 

God  as  Father,  159 

God,  revelation  of,  in  childhood, 
17.  217 

Godliness,  23 

Greece,  ancient,  106 

Gregory,  St.,  of  Nazianzum,  171 

Gregory,  St.,  of  Nyssa,  on  bap- 
tism, 172 


Handel,  boyhood  of,  66 

Heaven,  17 

Heredity,  96,  97 

Heroism  of  childhood,  49,  52 

Hinton,  J.,  57 

Hogg,  James,  12 

Holiness,  24 

Houzeau,  3 

Humility  in  the  child,  93 

Hymns,  children's,  i85 


Imitation,  42 

India,  children  of,  116 

Infant  baptism,  178 

Infant,  development  of  the,  216 

Inventions  of  children,  the  loom, 
40 ;  the  stethoscope,  38 ;  the 
telescope,  37 ;    the  valve-lever, 

39 
Israel,  children  of,  159 


INDEX. 


221 


Japan,  children  of,  140* 
Jesus,  see  Christ 
Jewish  children,  159 
Johnson,   Dr.,  and  children  recit- 
ing, 93 

Keble,  178 

Laennec  and  the  stethoscope,  38 
Landon,  L.  E.,  verses  by,  215 
Lawrence,  Sir  T.,  67 
Liberty  and  restraint,  25 
Lippersheim  and  the  telescope,  37 
Literary  children,  34 
Loom,  invention  of,  40 
Love,  a  child's,  95 
Lying,  82 

Macaulay,  boyhood  of,  44 
Madagascar,  children  of,  148 
Manners,  69 

Chinese,  131 

Manning,    Cardinal,   on   children, 

23,  24,  213 
Memory,  42 
Mental  evolution,  98 
Mind  in  infancy  and  childhood,  6 
Mozart,  childhood  of,  41 
Musical  faculty,  loi 
Musician,  young,  41,  66 

New  Guinea,  137 

Orderliness,  21 


Paget,  Rev.  F,,  179 
Palestine,  child  life  in,  135 
Parental  control  of  children,  210 

love,  95 

Pascal,  childhood  of,  36 


Patagonians,  139 

Paul,  St.,  on  love  and  faith,  207 

Perez,  3 

Persia,  children  of,  118 

Pity,  18 

Plato,  104,  106,  159 

Potter,  Humphrey,  39 

Power-loom,  invention  of,  40 

Praise,  injudicious,  94 

Prayers,  children's,  22,  83 

Preaching  proclivities,  34 

Precocity,  43 

Prejudice,  54 

Pride,  82 

Punishment,  capital,  2 

Punning,  42 


Quintilian,  115 


Raphael,  38 

Reason,  45 

Receptivity  of  a  child,  60 

Recitation  before  company,  93 

Resentment,  79 

Restraint  and  liberty,  25 

Richter  on  childhood,  216     • 

Roman  children,  114 

Romanes,  98 

Ruskin,  35,  198 


Sanctification  of  water  in  baptism, 

172,  174 
Sand,  George,  childhood  of,  13 
Schools  in  Persia,  125 
Scientific  observation,  68 
Sculptors,  boy,  67 
Self-sacrifice,  27,  28 
Shaftesbury,  Earl  of,  11,  i^,  84 


-222 


THE   CHILD. 


Sin,  in  infants,  167 

washing   away   in    baptism, 

172,  177 
Smeaton,  boyhood  of,  41 
Social  distinctions,  55 
Spencer,  H.,  3 
Spoiled  child,  the,  86 
Stanley,  Dean,  171,  178 
Stethoscope,  invention  of,  38 
•Sully,  3 
Sunday  school,  the,  87,  211 


Telescope,  invention  of,  37 
Tertullian,  172 
•Theodoret,  171 
Tiedemann,  6 
Tracts  for  the  Times,  169 
Training  of  children,  212 
^Trust,  a  child's,  94 


Trust  of  children,  59 


Valve-lever,  invention  of,  39 


Washing  away  of  sin  in  baptism, 

172,  177 
Water,  in  baptism,  172,  176,  181 
Watt,  James,  39 
Watts,  Dr.,  189 
Waugh,  Rev.  B.,  5 
Weismann,  100 
Westcott,  140 
Will,  the,  66 
Wordsworth,  8,  178 


Zulus,  134 


'^^^^l^^ 


XJTKIVERSITT 


Just  published,  Fourth  Edition,  pp.  121,  Imperial  8vo,  Cloth, 
Price  2s.  6d.  nett. 


SONGS  FOR  LITTLE  SINGERS 

IN  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  AND  HOME 

COMPOSED    BY 

HENRY    KING    LEWIS. 


NOTICES    OF    PREVIOUS    EDITIONS. 

"  Here  are  words  and  melodies  admirably  suited  for  the  children  in  our  homes  and 
schools.  Just  the  sort  to  make  them  sing  with  delight  rather  than  as  a  task.  Parents 
could  not  do  better  than  purchase  this  volume." — Word  and  Work. 

"  Expresses  the  real  feelings  of  childhood.  The  melodies  are  simple  and  pretty  and 
such  as  children  enjoy." — Church  Times. 

"  We  can  heartily  recommend  this  pretty  book  as  supplying  a  want  that  has  long 
been  felt  in  giving  the  children  songs  to  sing  which  they  can  understand  and  enjoy, 
and  which  express  the  real  feelings  of  childhood." — Practical  Teacher. 

"  The  author  has  evidently  sympathetic  acquaintance  with  childhood  and  its  needs, 
and  simplicity  and  melody,  without  silliness,  have  been  attained."— TAc  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Magazine. 

"A  delightful  selection  of  songs  and  accompaniment  very  suitable  for  children  at 
home  or  school." — The  British  Friend. 

"  The  songs  are  varied  from  grave  to  gay,  from  the  time  for  worship  to  the  time  for 
laughter  and  fun.  The  melodies  are  simple  without  being  silly,  and  the  harmonies 
are  all  within  the  range  of  young  players." — The  New  Age. 

"  The  words  and  music  are  alike  within  the  comprehension  of  little  ones,  and  are 
bright  and  joyous  in  character." — Christian  Leader. 

"  It  has  evidently  won  its  way  to  success  by  its  merit.  The  composer  has  beautifully 
executed  an  idea  of  his  own.  Many  of  the  melodies  and  accompaniments  are  really 
beautiful."  -Christian  Commonwealth. 

"  Its  popularity  is  deserved,  for  the  songs  are  all  good,  and  the  music  is  good  also. 
This  book  is  beautifully  printed  and  bound.  One  of  the  cheapest  and  best  things  we 
have  seen  for  a  long  time." — Family  Chiirchman. 

"  A  book  with  charming  rhymes  and  sweet  music.  We  have  read  and  we  have 
listened  with  pleasure.     It  will  prove  a  favourite  in  the  home." — Baptist  Messenger. 

"  An  excellent  collection  of  songs  and  hymns  for  young  folks.  The  words  of  the 
songs  breathe  happiness,  beauty  and  love,  and  the  melodies  are  usually  admirably 
suited  to  the  words." — The  Friend. 

"  Mr.  Lewis  has  studied  the  requirements  of  the  children,  and  has  fully  met  them  in 
this  delightful  volume.  Will  be  welcome  wherever  it  goes." — Methodist  Sunday  School 
Record, 

"  We  gladly  recommend  this  charming  book,  which  though  originally  intended  for 
use  in  infant  classes  at  school,  is  a  welcome  addition  to  the  pleasures  and  instruction 
of  home." — Early  Days. 

"  We  do  not  know  of  any  collection  of  children's  songs  better  adapted  to  its  purpose 
than  this  one.  It  combines  all  the  qualifications  necessary  to  render  it  attractive  to 
young  learners— exquisite  melody,  simple  yet  effective  harmony,  and  a  perfect  agree- 
ment between  the  words  and  the  music."— Educational  Times. 


NOTICES  OF  PREVIOUS  EDITIONS  {continued). 

"  Admirably  arranged,  and  excellent  in  moral  and  spiritual  tone.    We  have  never 

seen  a  work  of  the  kind  we  like  better It  should  be  circulated  by  thousands 

Parents,  you  should  by  all  means  purchase  this." — Evangelical  Magazine. 

"  A  book  of  song  thoroughly  adapted  to  the  little  singers  for  whom  it  is  intended. 
It  consists  of  hymns  and  cheerful  songs,  not  any  of  them  above  the  capacity  of  intelli- 
gent children,  set  to  airs  which  will  be  easily  caught  and  remembered.  We  commend 
it  to  mothers,  and  to  all  who  have  the  care  and  training  of  the  young." — Congregational 
Magazine. 

"Joyous  songs  are  not  only  the  delight  but  the  requirement  of  childhood.  Quick  to 
recognise  this,  Mr.  Henry  King  Lewis  made  a  selection  of  the  brightest  and  best, 
added  a  few  of  his  own  composition  and  set  the  whole  to  music,  the  airs  being  in  strict 
keeping  with  the  simplicity  of  the  words.  What  infant-class  would  grow  weary  of 
singing,  say  with  pianoforte  accompaniment,  such  melodies  as  '  Suppose  the  Little 
Cowslip,'  and  lessons  learned  in  song  make  an  abiding  impression  ?  " — Simday  iichocl 
Times. 

"This  collection  of  songs  is  vastly  superior  to  much  that  'little  singers'  are  con- 
demned to  learn  and  sing  in  the  present  day.  In  fact  there  is  an  originality  about 
some  of  Mr.  Lewis's  compositions  that  is  quite  refreshing.  Amongst  others  we  may 
mention  the  '  Morning  Hymn,'  '  Among  the  Children,'  '  Alice's  Supper,'  '  Bethlehem,' 
'  The  Grasshopper,'  and  '  Thy  Kingdom  Come,'  as  being  superior  both  in  the  words  and 
in  the  music  to  the  general  stock  pieces  which  appear  in  programmes  of  many  of  the 
children's  Choral  Festivals  which  are  of  such  frequent  recurrence. 

"  We  recommend  all  who  have  to  do  with  these  gatherings  to  obtain  Mr.  Lewis's 
book  of  Songs.  Most  of  the  pieces  are  capable  of  being  sung  by  Sunday-School 
children,  and  what  makes  taem  especially  valuable  is  that  the  composer  has  not 
sacrificed  the  educational  object  which  all  such  gatherings  should  have  in  view  to  the 
mere  gratification  of  the  senses." — The  Church  Sunday  School  Magazine. 

"  Brightness,  melody,  simplicity,  and  adaptation  to  the  child-nature,  are  the  chief 
charms  of  this  collection." — General  Baptist  Magazine. 

"  Mr.  Lewis  is  evidently  just  the  right  person  to  write  songs  for  the  little  ones 

His  idea  is  thoroughly  worked  out.  Though  nowhere  soaring  above  the  capacity  of 
his  audience,  his  songs  will  be  thoroughly  appreciated  by  the  elder  ones.  In  tact, 
viewed  as  abstract  musical  compositions,  they  possess  great  intrinsic  value.  They  are 
bright,  melodious  songs,  which  will  be  a  long  continuing  source  of  the  greatest 
pleasure  to  young  and  old." — The  Schoolmaster. 

"Persons  who  expect  to  find  in  this  capital  work  songs  of  the  'Here  we  suffer' 
kind,  are  not  likely  to  meet  with  much  ot  what  they  want,  but  parents  and  teachers 
who  wish  to  obtain  words  and  music  thoroughly  adapted  to  the  capacities  and  pro- 
clivities of  children,  will  find  such  here  in  abundance Simple  and  lively,  without  a 

trace  of  vulgarity.  The  work  is  intended  more  especially  for  infant  class  use,  but  will 
suit  older  children  :  and  before  publication  most,  if  not  all,  the  songs  have  duly  under- 
gone the  scrutiny  of  a  committee  of  200  juvenile  musicians,  have  been  performed  by 
them  in  public,  and  have  pleased  young  and  old  alike." — The  Quaver. 

"  This  is  a  charming  book  for  the  young  folk,  and  will  prove  a  delightful  present  for 
the  approaching  season.  Mr.  Lewis  is  a  wise  and  practical  enthusiast  in  the  matter  of 
children's  worship-song.  Both  the  songs  and  music  of  this  volume  have  borne  the 
practical  test  of  use  in  a  large  gathering  of  children,  and  those  who  have  been  privi- 
leged to  hear  the  young  singers  know  how  well  these  compositions  have  borne  that 
most  searching  of  all  tests.  Some  of  the  songs  and  all  the  music,  are  from  the  pen  of 
the  editor,  and  reflect  very  great  credit  upon  his  skill  and  taste.  It  should  be  added 
that  the  printing  and  binding  of  the  volume  are  both  very  attractive."— CAm^tan 
World. 

"  We  welcome  any  special  effort  in  the  direction  of  songs  and  music  for  infants,  for 
too  often  the  ordinary  hymns  of  the  schools  are  theirs  also.  Mr.  Lewis  recognizes  the 
claims  of  the  little  ones  to  more  special  provision,  and  he  does  ^omewhat  to  meet  them 
here  by  this  collection,  which  contains  some  new  hymns,  and  soipe  old  favourites,  but 
all  set  to  music  by  himself.  We  heartily  thank  him  for  what  he  has  done." — Sunday 
School  Chronicle. 


LONDON : 
SIMPKIN,  MARSHALL,  HAMILTOlSf,  KENT  &  Co.,  Ltd. 


^^         OF  THE  '^ 

UNIVERSITY 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

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